ALLIE REYNOLDS

Allie Reynolds was born in Bethany, OK in 1915. When he grew up it was a sleepy little burg far enough north of Oklahoma City to be out of its orbit, yet close enough to be known as "die town ya have to pass through to get on Route 66." Allie was a star athlete in high school and the son of a strict preacher. Roughly one-half of his genetic markers were Native American. He escaped alcoholism but not diabetes, which he called "The Indian disease." Early in his career, he had diabetic attacks. Little was known then about the disease and the Yankees thought he lacked stamina. He was also very tense, so before one game coach Charley Dressen gave him a shot of brandy to relax. After a couple innings he could barely stand. Eventually they realized that the diabetes was impairing his stamina. Also, Spud Chandler taught him at he needed to pace himself. He evolved from thrower to pitcher.

Already 28 when he became a spot specialist reliever in 1943, Reynolds had a fine 12 year run. Had he gotten started a bit earlier he likely would be in Cooperstown today. Firing his Oklahoma smoker past hundreds of AL batters, he retired with a 182-107 record, his 63% win percentage ranking him 28th on the all-time list.

He matriculated away from the intense media glare of New York on some decent Cleveland clubs, compiling a 51-47 record from 1943-46, with an ERA usually in the low threes. Traded for Joe "Flash" Gordon, the popular Yankee second bagger of the DiMaggio era, in 1947, Reynolds was ready for prime time.

The Yankee brass had been gradually retooling the DiMaggio-Gordon-Henrich-Keller-Chandler club, and the roster now sported names like Berra, Coleman, Woodling, Bauer and, in 1951, Mantle. By 1948 the powerful pitching trio of Reynolds, Lopat and Raschi was in place, to be joined by Ford in '51.

From his first year as a Yankee in 1947 until the last time he heard the roar of the crowd in 1954, Reynolds typified the Yankee mystique: confident, professional, gutsy. During his stay in the Big Apple, the Bronx Bombers won the pennant every year except Œ48 and '54, when Allie's former club took the flag. In those 8 seasons, he won 131 and lost only 60, for a stunning .686 percentage. In 1951 he had two no-hitters. He led the AL in percentage in '47 (19-8, .704). 1952 was probably his best year, when he went 20-8 and led the league in strikeouts with 160. Always handy as a reliever, he so led the league with 6 relief wins. In fact, of his 182 victories, 36 came as a fireman.

"Reynolds is two ways great, which is starting and relieving, which no one can do like him. "-Casey Stengel

Indeed, he made 125 relief appearances and 309 starts. Lou Boudreau, his manager in Cleveland, had used him much the same way as Stengel did, For his career he was 18-18 in relief, with 49 saves. Some say that the relief inning damaged his chances for the Hall of Fame, including reaching the magic 200 victory mark. With his typical modesty, Reynolds replied late in life, "My job was to help us win games. If pitching in relief helped us win, that was fine. It wasn't about awards."

In 1951 he won the Hitchcock Belt for the top professional athlete of the year.

Perhaps he was a bit short of Cooperstown credentials. He certainly was the pick of the litter of the great pitchers of Ms era who didn't make the Hall. Allie

Reynolds died a day after Christmas of 1994, a proud part-Cherokee and all-pitcher.