Pee Wee Reese was just 21 years old when he played in his first All Star Game in 1942. At season’s end he enlisted into the Navy for the war effort. He spent the next three years in the Pacific Theater with the Seabees, the Navy’s Construction Battalion.

When he returned, Reese picked up right where he left off; Reese then reeled off nine consecutive All Star appearances.

In his final All Star season of 1954, Reese topped the .300 mark for the first time.

In the collection is this letter to the Brooklyn shortstop from NL President Warren Giles. Typed on National League letterhead, it is dated July 16, 1954, just three days after the Mid Summer Classic.

The letter reads in part, “It was a great show for the fans who were present and the millions who saw it on T.V. and the only thing to regret is that we lost. Possibly this is a good omen for a World Series victory for our league in the Fall.”

Reese’s Dodgers won 92 that year finishing second to Leo Durocher‘s Giants. The Lip’s Giants made good on Giles’ prognostication, sweeping the Indians in the Fall Classic.

Giles adds a handwritten postscript to the Dodger captain, “Sorry you weren’t up to par physically.”

Though Giles signed many documents in his position of league president, correspondence between two Hall of Famers remains highly desirable.

Pee Wee Reese captained the Brooklyn Dodgers through heartbreak and belief, steering them toward October year after year. He led five National League pennants from 1941 through 1953, owning the infield with calm authority. Each run crashed into the same wall, as the Yankees celebrated while Brooklyn regrouped. New York took the Series in ’41, ’47, ’49, ’52, and ’53, winning 20 of 30 games. Reese never backed down, and he kept dragging his club back into the fight.

Then 1955 arrived with another showdown. The Dodgers returned to face their familiar rivals, hungry to flip the script. New York struck first and grabbed the opening two games at home. History leaned hard in their favor, since every team up 2–0 had finished the job. Pressure mounted quickly, and Brooklyn stared at another collapse.

That Game 2 ticket captures the tension and the talent on the field. Reese delivered at the plate, collecting a single and a double while scoring once. Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle signed alongside Reese and Duke Snider, linking both dugouts. Flip it over, and Bill Skowron adds his name, sealing a moment packed with legends and unfinished business.

Pee Wee Reese led the Brooklyn Dodgers into the 1955 World Series facing familiar pressure. They dropped the first two games to the New York Yankees and stared at history. No club had ever erased an 0–2 deficit to win it all. Brooklyn refused to follow that script. The Dodgers returned home and ripped off three straight victories, flipping the series with grit and belief.

Momentum shifted back to the Bronx for Game 6, where Yankee skipper Casey Stengel called on Whitey Ford. Ford answered with a four-hit complete game, leveling the series and setting up a winner-take-all finale. Game 7 brought tension that gripped both cities. Young lefty Johnny Podres took the mound and delivered a masterpiece. He shut down New York and secured a 2–0 victory, handing Brooklyn its only championship.

Reese anchored the effort with steady defense and relentless leadership. He kept his teammates focused and pushed them through every inning of pressure. When the final out landed, celebration erupted as years of frustration vanished. That triumph ended a cycle of near misses and heartbreak against their rivals.

A Game 7 ticket preserves the moment forever. Reese’s Dodger teammate Duke Snider signed it boldly, linking his name to Brooklyn’s crowning achievement. Snider was the Fall Classic’s star, hitting .320 with a Series-leading 4 home runs and 7 runs batted in.

Pee Wee Reese, the legendary shortstop retired in 1958 and became a coach with the now Los Angeles Dodgers. In his only season in the position the Dodgers earned the franchise’s second World Series title. As coach, Reese got his second ring.

This season marked his final time in uniform, closing a storied playing career that began in 1940. Known for his leadership and unwavering spirit, Reese transitioned smoothly from the diamond to the broadcast booth in 1960, taking on the role of a color commentator.

For nine years, he brought his baseball insights to life on CBS and NBC, captivating audiences with his engaging style and deep knowledge of the game. After his network career ended he entered the Cincinnati Reds broadcast booth, a move that allowed him to work closer to home. His tenure with the Reds spanned two years, during which he became a familiar voice for fans.

After concluding his broadcasting career, Reese deepened his local roots, taking on various roles with the Hillerich & Bradsby Company, the iconic Louisville-based manufacturer of baseball bats. His contributions there reflected his lifelong dedication to the sport and his hometown. Through these endeavors, Pee Wee Reese remained a beloved figure in baseball, celebrated not just for his achievements on the field but also for his enduring influence in the game off it.

After winning their second title in five years, many of the players on the ’59 club already had a World Series ring. Here general manager Buzzie Bavasi writes. “Since a ring is the only thing we are able to secure for the World Championship I thought you might like to have a ring made up for Dotty rather than one for yourself.” Mrs. Dotty Reese answers in the next image.

After receiving Buzzie Bavasi’s letter shown in the previous image, Pee Wee Reese decided to have the ’59 World Series ring fitted for his wife. The lifetime baseball man figured Dotty Reese would appreciate the gesture.

Dotty got her finger sized and sent this letter to Dodger executive assistant Joseph Ziegler informing him of her ring size.

Mrs. Reese’s reply reads, “Please forgive our delay in sending you my ring size. I thought Pee Wee hand tended to it and he thought I had. My ring size is 6 /1/2. Sincerely, Dotty Reese”.

Alas Mrs. Reese would never get her ring as the correspondence in the next image shows.

First GM Buzzie Bavasi suggested that Pee Wee get a ring for his wife. Pee Wee complied. Now comes this file copy letter on the subject. Dated two and a half weeks after Mrs. Reese’s letter, this correspondence is dated 3 January, 1960.

Written by Dodger executive assistant Joe Ziegler this letter informs Pee Wee that the price was too exorbitant to make the ladies’ rings. It appears Pee Wee will have to make do with a pair of World Series rings. In the next letter, the former Dodger captain Reese makes an easy adjustment.

After all the back-and-forth about the ring, the final conclusion was that Pee Wee Reese would make the ring his own. In the collection is this handwritten letter from the Dodger captain.

“Am sorry that I can’t get my wife a ring but I guess it’s impossible,” Reese writes. “Just have to split my time between the ’55 ring and the ’59. I believe I had a little more to do with the ’55 club so maybe I’ll divide it 60-40.”

Reese explains that his ring size is 9 1/2 then closes the letter with a large flowing signature.

Lifetime Kentuckian Harold “Pee Wee” Reese was sent his 1959 World Series ring on April 18, 1960. Shown here is the postage receipt from Los Angeles with the date.

Also with the receipts are those of head trainer Doc Wendler, and coach Charlie Dressen who was Reese’s manager in Brooklyn. The 1959 season proved to be Reese’s final in a big league uniform.

By the time the ring reached Reese he was a network baseball colorman.

As he reached his mid-70s Pee Wee Reese battled health problems. The former Dodger shortstop beat prostate cancer before developing lung cancer. Eventually in 1997 doctors removed a malignant tumor. Afterward he faced radiation treatment.

As if that wasn’t enough, Reese also broke his hip. He eventually succumbed the issues and passed away on August 14, 1999 at age 81 in his home state of Kentucky.

Shown here is an August 18th press release announcing the Dodgers plans to wear a patch commemorating the captain of their only Brooklyn World Series title.  At the bottom Reese’s teammate for parts of six seasons Dick Williams reflects about Reese.

The Hall of Fame manager Williams writes in part, “He was the Captain and a good one. He was class. I always thought he would make a fine manager but I guess he wanted everyone to like him.” Williams then signs the bottom of the press release.

Carl Erskine played for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers for a dozen years. Eleven of those seasons featured Harold “Pee Wee” Reese as his teammate. In Erskine’s final season of 1959 Reese was a Dodger coach.

In the collection is another of the Dodger press releases like the one shown in the previous image. At the bottom Erskine pens his thoughts on his longtime teammate. The pitcher’s thoughts provide insight into the longest reigning captain in Dodger franchise history.

“Harold ‘Pee Wee’ Reese was a captain of captains. Our infield was full of captains. Roy Campanella was like a field general, Gil Hodges a sharp thinker with baseball savvy. Jackie Robinson – smart and aggressive – anyone (sic) of them could have been a captain. Pee Wee however was the respected leader. He played for at least four different type managers all of whom considered him their extension on the field. All of us who played with Pee Wee saw a quiet leader, real pro and sincere friend.”

Erskine has boldly signed the bottom of the letter, adding “Dodgers 1948-1959”.

When the two teams were in New York, the Dodger/Giant rivalry was one of the most heated in baseball history. The players and fans of the teams hated each other. In the collection is this Dodger press release dated August 18, 1999, four days after the passing of Brooklyn shortstop and captain Pee Wee Reese. In it the team announces that the players will wear a uniform patch honoring their fallen leader Reese.

At the bottom of the press release, New York Giants legend Bobby Thomson writes his thoughts on the rivalry between the two teams and Reese himself, “First you must appreciate the historical rivalry we had with the Dodgers. It was beyond most rivalries. We didn’t like them and they didn’t like us, and it showed in every game we played.”

Thomson then turns his attention to the Hall of Fame Dodger shortstop, “…there were two Pee Wee’s; the one I played against and the relationship I had with him after our playing careers. No question he was an inspirational great player, but I wouldn’t admit that when we played.”

Thomson finishes his thoughts on the back of the press release shown in the next image.

On the reverse of the press release, New York Giants star Bobby Thomson finishes his thoughts on Brooklyn Dodger captain Harold “Pee Wee” Reese. Thomson disliked the Dodgers and saw them as rivals. That rivalry ran so deep that Thomson could not even acknowledge Reese’s inspirational work for Brooklyn. Here, Thomson writes about their relationship after their playing days concluded.

Thomson’s thoughts begin on the front side shown in the previous image before continuing here. He writes, “It wasn’t until after our careers ended and we met as plain people [that] I realized what a fine man Pee Wee was.”

Thomson ends the letter with one of the highest compliments one rival can pay another, “He (Reese) was the kind of guy I would have loved to play with.”

The letter closes with Thomson’s signature at the bottom.

The 1984 Hall of Fame induction featured five players – three writers’ selections and two Veteran Committee picks. Luis Aparicio, Don Drysdale, and Harmon Killebrew, got the BBWAA nod while Rick Ferrell and Pee Wee Reese came in via the Vets.

Slugger Killebrew was selected on his fourth year on the ballot. The doors opened for Aparcio in his sixth year and Drysdale in his tenth.

Shown here is a letter from Reese’s Cooperstown classmate Killebrew. The Twins great writes to Jack Lang, the secretary-treasurer of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) from 1966-1988. The role entrusted Lang with counting Hall of Fame votes and notifying those who made it.

The correspondence is dated January 16, 1984, just one week after Killebrew received the good news.

He writes in part, “What a thrill to hear these words from you last week…It is the greatest thrill of my life and we look forward to being with you and the rest of my friends along with Don Drysdale and Luis Aparicio on August 12.”

The Veterans Committee had yet to announce its results. Slugger Killebrew signs his name at the bottom of the letter.