Pete Reiser
| Pete Reiser | |||
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Reiser in 1948.
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| Outfielder | |||
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Born: March 17, 1919 St. Louis, Missouri |
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Died: October 25, 1981 (aged 62) Palm Springs, California |
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| MLB debut | |||
| July 23, 1940, for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| July 5, 1952, for the Cleveland Indians | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .295 | ||
| Hits | 786 | ||
| Runs batted in | 368 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Harold Patrick Reiser (March 17, 1919 – October 25, 1981), nicknamed "Pistol Pete", was an outfielder in Major League Baseball during the 1940s and early 1950s. He played primarily for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and later for the Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cleveland Indians.
A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Reiser originally signed with his hometown Cardinals, but at age 19 he was among a group of minor league players declared free agents by Commissioner of Baseball Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Reportedly, Cardinal general manager Branch Rickey—mortified at losing a player of Reiser's caliber—arranged for the Dodgers to sign Reiser, hide him in the minors, then trade him back to St. Louis at a later date. But Reiser's stellar performances in spring training in both 1939 and 1940 forced the Dodgers to keep him. (Rickey would become GM of the Dodgers after the 1942 season and witness Reiser's injury-caused decline as a great talent.)
In 1941, his first season as a regular starter, Reiser helped the Dodgers take home the pennant. He was a sensation that year, winning the National League batting title while leading the league in doubles, triples, runs scored, and slugging percentage. He was also named a starter to the All-Star team and placed second in MVP balloting. On July 19 of the following year, Reiser crashed face-first into the outfield wall in St. Louis, trying to catch what turned out to be a game winning inside-the-park home run by Enos Slaughter of the rival Cardinals in the bottom of the 11th inning. The loss cut the Dodgers' lead over the Cardinals to six games.
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