Pee Wee Reese a part-time television analyst for the Montreal Expos in 1972. In his later years, Reese was employed at Hillerich & Bradsby, makers of Louisville Slugger baseball bats. He battled prostate and lung cancer during the final years of his life, and died on August 14, 1999 at his Louisville home. He is interred at Resthaven Memorial Park Cemetery in Louisville. In 1984, Reese was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum along with Rick Ferrell. On his entry, his support of Jackie Robinson was cited as well as his playing performance as a testament to his worthiness
Black Betsy his death in 1951. After his wife's death a few years later, it was bequeathed to her cousin and her son, Lester Erwin, who kept the bat on a bookcase for over 40 years. Erwin decided to sell the bat through Ebay in 2001. In a 10-day auction, it gathered two bids. The winner, Rob Mitchell, owner of a marketing company in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, won the bat for $525,100 plus a 10 percent buyer's premium. It was auctioned again at Sotheby's on December 10, 2005. Sporting goods companies Spalding and Hillerich & Bradsby both produced reproductions of the bat for