Archie Bunker the same episode, Mike learns that Archie was mentally and physically abused by his father, who was the source of his bigoted views. Yet, Archie then goes on to vehemently defend his father, who he claims loved him and taught him "to do good". It is revealed that Archie's father was a brakeman for The Long Island Railroad, when Archie receives his father's pocket watch from his formerly long-estranged brother, Alfred ("Fred"), who later appeared in two "All in the Family" episodes, "Archie's Brother" and "The Return of Archie's Brother", and the "Archie Bunker's Place" episode "Father Christmas". Fred and
Archie Bunker while Archie had been forced to drop out of high school during the Great Depression to help support his family. Archie does not take advantage of the GI Bill to further his education, although he does attend night school to earn a high school diploma in 1973. Archie is also revealed to have been an outstanding baseball player in his youth: his dream was to pitch for the New York Yankees. He had to give up this dream when he left high school to enter the workforce. His uncle got him a job on a loading dock after World War