Pete Reiser

Positions: Outfielder and Third Baseman
Bats: Left  •  Throws: Right
5-11, 185lb (180cm, 83kg)
Born: March 17, 1919 in St. Louis, MO us
Died: October 25, 1981  in Palm Springs, CA
Buried: Desert Memorial Park, Cathedral City, CA
High School: Beaumont HS (St. Louis, MO)
Debut: July 23, 1940 (8,915th in major league history)
vs. CIN 3 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: July 5, 1952
vs. CHW 0 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 SB
Full Name: Harold Patrick Reiser
Nicknames: Pistol Pete
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1940

Pee Wee Reese
Elmer Valo
Marty Marion
Walker Cooper
Dom DiMaggio
Pete Reiser
Harry Brecheen
Harry Walker
Stan Spence

The Pete Reiser Teammate Team

C:   Roy Campanella
1B: Dolph Camilli
2B: Billy Herman
3B: Al Rosen
SS: Pee Wee Reese
LF: Joe Medwick
CF: Larry Doby
RF: Ralph Kiner
SP: Carl Erskine
SP: Vern Law
SP: Bob Feller
SP: Early Wynn
RP: Ralph Branca
M:   Leo Durocher

Baseball is the only game you can watch on the radio. Join the community today and listen to hundreds of broadcasts from baseball’s golden age.”

Start listening or learn more

Notable Events and Chronology

SearchSearch Events, Dates and More Date (Newest)Title (A - Z)

March 23, 1938

 Commissioner Landis frees 74 St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, among them Pete Reiser

April 1, 1938

Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis grants free agency to a group of nine Cardinal minor leaguers that includes Pete Reiser

March 22, 1939

Rookie outfielder Pete Reiser starts his second spring training game for the Brooklyn Dodgers

September 25, 1941

1941 – Combined with a Cardinal defeat, the Dodgers win their first pennant in 21 years when they beat the Braves, 6 – 0. Whitlow Wyatt throws a five-hitter and Pete Reiser hits a homer in the winning cause.

April 17, 1942

newly marrieds Pee Wee Reese and Pete Reiser are both serenaded with “Here comes the bride” by a fan playing a trumpet

July 19, 1942

In loss to Card’s Pete Reiser suffers concussion

September 8, 1946

Dodger Pete Reiser, even though still as injury-prone as he was before the war, steals 3 bases, including home, in an 11 – 3 Dodger victory over the Giants. It is his 7th steal of home this year. He will lead the major leagues with 34 steals despite missing more than 30 games due to injuries.

March 8, 1947

In front of 5,000 fans at Havana’s new Gran Estadio de La Habana, the Yankees lose to the Dodgers in extra innings, 1-0, with Snuffy Stirnweiss’s tenth-inning single accounting for the Bronx Bombers’ only hit. Pete Reiser’s long double on a 3-2 pitch off Spec Shea scores Carl Furillo, giving Brooklyn the walk-off victory in Cuba.

March 17, 1947

Pete Reiser at spring training in Havana, Cuba – 1947.

June 4, 1947

 Pete Reiser crashes into the fence and is knocked unconscious

December 15, 1948

The Dodgers trade the much-heralded, but injury-prone Pete Reiser to the Braves for outfielder Myron McCormick. The marvelously talented but reckless Reiser crashed into too many outfield walls and, according to Red Smith, was carried off on a stretcher 11 times.

July 16, 1969

Rod Carew ties Pete Reiser record of 7 steals of home in a season

February 6, 2022

Nine Major League Baseball Players who debuted in 1940

The 1941 NL batting champion, Pete Reiser lost three seasons to war, parts of several to injury, and never realized the greatness that seemed to be his destiny. He was a hustler, like Enos Slaughter and Pete Rose after him, sprinting down the first baseline on every groundball, breaking up double plays, sliding hard into enemy fielders, diving for fly balls, and crashing into fences. His go-for-broke playing style proved to be his Achilles heel.

Biography

Built much like Lenny Dykstra, “Pistol Pete” Reiser was a similar batter – he had surprising power for a small player. He had doubles power, and he led his league in doubles and triples in 1941. That year was his one great season in the sun, as he led the NL in five major offensive categories. With Reiser playing center field, the Dodgers won their first pennant in more than two decades. In the Series loss to the Yankees, Reiser hit a double, triple, and home run, but batted just .200 in the five games.

The 137 games he played in 1941 proved to be his career-high, as Reiser began a pattern of wall-crashing injuries in 1942. He hit a wall in St. Louis and suffered a concussion and a separated shoulder. At the time he was batting .383, but limped to .310 as the Dodgers failed to hold their lead in the pennant race.

After three years in the U.S. Army, Reiser returned in 1946 to lead the NL in steals, including seven of home. He was considered the fastest player in the league at the time, but his jarring injuries seldom allowed him to use it. It was hard to steal a base from the injured list. Late in ’46 he separated his shoulder, broke his ankle, and tore muscles. His season was over.

In 1947 the Dodgers had Jackie Robinson in their lineup, and with Reiser the two formed a daring duo. They finished 1-2 in steals that season, but a crash into a wall kept Pete to 110 games. In the 1947 World Series Reiser started the first three games but misplayed several balls in the outfield due to vertigo. Just 28 years old, Reiser’s days as a regular player were over.

He was sent to the Braves after the 1948 season and then bounced to Pittsburgh and Cleveland, never playing in more than 84 games. The many injuries he suffered – he had been carried from the field on a stretcher several times in his career – left him with bruises, scars, and dizzy spells for years. His lasting legacy was the introduction of warning tracks and padded walls in major league ballparks.

Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

Played For
Brooklyn Dodgers (1940-1948)
Boston Braves (1949-1950)
Pittsburgh Pirates (1951)
Cleveland Indians (1952)

Similar: Lenny Dykstra

Linked: None

Best Season, 1941
While Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams fought over headlines in the AL, Reiser had them in the National League in ’41. He blazed across the baseball world – leading his league in batting (.343), runs (117), doubles (39), triples (17), and slugging (.558). He was a terror in the outfield, and he played in a career-best 137 games. The Bums won their first pennant in 21 seasons.

Post-Season Appearances
1941 World Series
1947 World Series

All-Star Selections
1941 NL
1942 NL
1946 NL

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
• Pete Reiser at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
• Pete Reiser at The Deadball Era
• Pete Reiser at Find a Grave

If you would like to add a link or add information for player pages, please contact us here.