As myth has it, in 1947 Cincinnati fans were giving Jackie Robinson a particularly hard time so, in a show of support, Pee Wee Reese walked over to Robinson and put his arm around the rookie. This was viewed as an act of racial empathy by Reese, a popular player from nearby Kentucky. The story is most likely untrue, and critics now note that Reese should not have been so celebrated for such a basic act.