There would have been no “Boys of Summer” if there was no Pee Wee Reese. A Dodgers regular since 1940, Reese was the trusted veteran and glue that cemented the team’s solid infield. With Reese at shortstop, Brooklyn would win seven pennants and a World Championship. A scrappy batter who excelled at getting on base, Reese often batted in front of Jackie Robinson, giving the Dodgers a dangerous one-two punch to set the table for the big bats of Duke Snider and Carl Furillo. At no point in Reese’s career was this more successful than 1949 when he led the National League with 132 runs scored.

The Dodgers would meet the Yankees in the World Series that fall, and though the Bums went down in five games, Reese led the team in hits and batted a nice .316. This classic Dodgers home jersey was worn by Pee Wee Reese during the 1949 season. While at first glance it appears to be the iconic home flannel worn by the team since 1938, this jersey is unique in that it is of the “Palm Beach” style. “Palm Beach” was a trade term used by Goldsmith of Cincinnati for their lighter, open weave of flannel designed to give players more comfort than their traditional 6 or 8oz flannels. Several clubs used this style at different times, and the Dodgers ordered sets for several select players in 1949 and 1950.

“Palm Beach” uniforms proved to be more expensive to produce and quickly fell out of use. The Dodgers “Palm Beach” jerseys are easy to spot in period photos due to the script style of “Dodgers” and the break of the logo coming between the “d” and the “g.” Photo matching has shown that Reese wore this style jersey on at least two occasions at Ebbets Field in 1949: July 4 and August 23, though it can be assumed that he wore this during other Dodgers home games. On July 4th, the Dodgers played a double-header against the Philadephia Phillies and Reese hit a third inning home run off Phillies pitcher Jocko Thompson in the Dodgers 8-4 victory in the second game. On August 23rd, the Dodgers played another double-header, this time against the St. Louis Cardinals. The scarcity of this style jersey cannot be overstated as to date this is the only surviving “Palm Beach” Dodgers jersey in the hobby and it is also the earliest known game used Pee Wee Reese jersey known. The jersey has a MacGregor Goldsmith size 42 label sewn inside the collar alongside a white strip tag with “Reese 1” embroidered in red. A “SET 1 1949” hang tag is sewn inside the lower placket. The jersey shows moderate wear with some fabric pulls and mild abrasions visible, but no holes or tears. The body shows light toning from age and the seven original buttons remain firmly in place. The “Dodgers” script and Reese’s number “1” on the back have been deemed to be original to the jersey. A stand-out game used piece from the Dodgers’ Hall of Fame shortstop worn during one of his finest seasons. The jersey comes with a LOA from MEARS, who have graded this jersey a perfect A10 and a detailed hardcover book from SGC for the game use, who have given this jersey its highest grade of Superior while describing this jersey’s authenticity in great detail. This jersey has also been photo matched by Resolution Photomatching to July 4th and August 23rd, 1949 in which Reese hit a home run in the second game of the double-header on July 4th. An original photograph showing Reese in this Dodgers' jersey from July 4th, 1949 will also accompany this jersey.

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