Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 193

Allie Reynolds – All Five Years

"Reynolds was two ways great, which is starting and relieving, which no one can do like him. He has guts and his courage is simply tremendous." - Manager Casey Stengel.

“What did I do?" said an exasperated Billy Martin in the clubhouse after hearing of his $150 fine. Allie Reynolds replied; "Nothing Billy, but what can you do? You've got a reputation."

Allie Reynolds was born on February 10, 1917, in Bethany, Oklahoma. His father was a preacher in the Church of the

Nazarene. His mother was a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and he also became enrolled. As a young child, he did not play baseball because his father did not approve of playing sports on Sundays. Reynolds threatened to run away from home if his father wouldn't let him play football, and his father relented.

Reynolds attended Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma City, where he starred in American football as a quarterback and running back, and at track and field, where he excelled at the javelin throw and 100 yard dash. He played fast pitch softball for his father's church team, which did not play on Sundays. There, he began dating Dale Earleane Jones, who was named Capitol Hill High School's most outstanding female athlete. She