Allie Reynolds – the Super chief
February 10 – Happy Birthday to Allie Reynolds.
Allie Reynolds, born in 1917 in Bethany, Oklahoma, faced religious restrictions on playing organized baseball due to his parents’ Nazarene beliefs. Overcoming this, he excelled in various sports during high school and later earned a track scholarship at Oklahoma A&M. After an impressive college career, he joined professional baseball, pitching for the Cleveland Indians and eventually the New York Yankees.
Renowned for his achievements, including two no-hitters in 1951, July 12 against Cleveland and September 28 against the Boston Red Sox, Reynolds played a crucial role in the Yankees’ dominance, contributing to five consecutive World Championships from 1949 to 1953. An injury caused Reynolds to retire after having one of his better statistical years in 1954 at age 37 – finishing with a record of 182-107, a .630 winning percentage, and a 3.30 ERA.
Some argue that Reynolds is one of the better pitchers not in the Hall of Fame. The most similar players who are in the Hall, based on the Hall of Fame similarity scores method, are Lefty Gomez and Bob Lemon.
Although he could never get above 33% of the Hall of Fame voye, Reynolds was recognized in 1969 when he became the head of the revived American Association and the league named its Allie Reynolds Award for the top pitcher in his honor and Oklahoma State University baseball has called Allie P. Reynolds Stadium home since 1981.
Reynolds passed away in 1994.
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1942
Tommy Holmes
Johnny Pesky
Warren Spahn
Allie Reynolds
Johnny Sain
Hank Borowy
Peanuts Lowrey
Willard Marshall
Eddie Robinson
Post-Season Appearances
1947 World Series
1949 World Series
1950 World Series
1951 World Series
1952 World Series
1953 World Series
All-Star Selections
1945 AL
1949 AL
1950 AL
1952 AL
1953 AL
1954 AL