Regularly called, “the nicest man in baseball”, Jimmie Reese spent a lifetime in baseball. He first played professionally in 1920 for the Pacific Coast League Los Angeles Angels. Though he’d play three season in the Major Leagues, two with the Yankees, and one with the Cardinals, it was his 14 years in the PCL that stand out as a player.

After hanging up his spikes, Reese embarked on a long career as a minor league coach, manager, then as a scout and finally as a fungo-hitting coach for the Angels for the last 22 years of his life.

During his time with the Halos he made such an impression on Nolan Ryan that the Hall of Fame pitcher named his son “Reese” in his honor. Jimmie Reese was posthumously inducted into the Pacific Coast Hall of Fame in 2003, eight years after his jersey #50 was retired by the Angels.

Shown here is a letter from former Yankee Reese, Babe Ruth’s teammate for two seasons. Reese outlines his “association with what I fervently believe was the greatest baseball player that ever played the game.”

Ruth’s roommate on the road, Reese famously said, “I didn’t really room with Babe Ruth. I roomed with his luggage.”.

Jimmie Reese was Babe Ruth’s road roomate for each of his two years with the Yankees. In those two season of 1930 and ’31, Ruth hit 95 homers and drove in 315 runs. The Colossus of Clout hit .366 with a .494 on-base percentage and a .716 slugging percentage. His OPS+ was 214.

Shown here is an autographed photo of the Sultan of Swat. Like many of Ruth’s signatures later in life, this one was written in green pen. The Bombino writes, “To Charlotte Cepeska Sincerely Babe Ruth 1948”.

Ruth’s page on this site has much more on the greatest player who ever lived.