Jimmie Reese

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Jimmie Reese (October 1, 1901 in New York City – July 13, 1994 in Santa Ana, California) was the adopted name of Hyam Soloman (birth name variously given as Herman Soloman, James Herman Soloman, and James Hymie Soloman), a professional baseball player. In order to avoid the brunt of prejudice against Jewish baseball players during that era, Soloman adopted the name of Jimmie Reese, which he used throughout his baseball career.

Much of his career was spent in the Pacific Coast League, beginning as a batboy with the Los Angeles Angels 1919-1923. In 1924 he signed a contract to play second base with the Oakland Oaks. In 1928 his contract was sold to the New York Yankees, and was called up to the American League in 1930. Reese played for the Yankees in 1930 and 1931, and was most noted for being the roommate of Babe Ruth (or, as Reese explained, he “roomed with Ruth’s suitcase”).

Reese played the 1932 season with the St. Louis Cardinals, then returned to the PCL, where he played with the Angels and San Diego Padres. After his playing career was over, he returned to baseball as a coach with the California Angels and several other teams before “retiring.”

Reese never married, had no children, and no real extended family. In 1972, at age 71, he asked the Angels for a job, and was hired as conditioning coach, whose job was to get men—many of whom were young enough to be his grandsons—into shape. He had an uncanny ability to hit fungos, and led the team during fielding practice.

Jimmie Reese died at age 92, on July 13, 1994 in Santa Ana, California, still under the employ of the Angels, after a brief illness. Legendary pitcher Nolan Ryan named one of his sons Reese as a tribute to Jimmie Reese. His uniform number (50) has been retired by the Los Angeles Angels.

[edit] External link

• Career Statistics at Baseball-Reference.com