Jimmie Reese was a part of professional baseball for 78 years. In 1973, he became a coach for Major League Baseball’s California Angels and remained active with the American League team until his death at age 92.
Reese was hired as a batboy for the original Pacific Coast League Los Angeles Angels in 1917, a job he held until 1923. That year, he was signed to play with the minor league Oakland Oaks, where he toiled until 1929, when he was sold to the big league New York Yankees. Babe Ruth’s roommate with the Yankees in 1930 and 1931, Reese was one of a long line of Jewish prospects the Bronx Bombers hoped would develop into a hometown hero. And he responded by hitting .336 that first year.
But playing behind star second baseman and Hall-of-Famer-to-be Tony Lazzeri presented little opportunity and made Reese good trade material. So he was sold to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1932, where again it was his fate to play behind another future Hall of Fame second baseman, Frankie Frisch. He remained in the big leagues only three seasons, hitting a respectable .278 in 742 at-bats.
Reese would continue to play and manage in the minor leagues until entering U.S. Army service in World War II. After the war, he served as a scout, coach, or manager for seven minor league clubs before joining the Angels in 1973.
