Reese Touched Many With His Major League Class : In memoriam: People from various walks of life pay tribute to Angel coach whose sincerity was legendary.

Two weeks ago, John Cox was doing the same thing he did every time he had the opportunity 20 years ago. Fielding fungoes off a bat swung by Jimmie Reese.

Reese was in a Santa Ana convalescent center and the staff was having trouble persuading him to get out of bed. Angel coach Bobby Knoop had left a few baseballs and Reese’s favorite fungo bat in the room, so Cox saw his cue.

“I said, ‘C’mon, I need a few more,’ ” Cox said. “We got him in a wheelchair and went out on the lawn and he hit me a few. Not real hard, but he hit ‘em.”

Cox, a supervisor of scouting for the Baltimore Orioles, stood in a visitation room at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana Thursday, marveling at his memories of the man. Jimmie Reese lay a few feet away, his Angel uniform sparkling white, that trusty fungo bat leaning against the coffin.

“That’s the man who allowed me to do what I’ve done in this business,” said Cox, a former scouting director and assistant general manager for 13 years with the Chicago Cubs.

“The Angels put an ad in the paper for an open tryout,” he said. “About 500 guys showed up. The coaches picked three of us. I don’t know how much Jimmie had to do with that decision, but that’s when our friendship started and that’s when my career started.

“I never made it past (Class) A ball as a player. I was middle infielder, one of 100,000 good-glove-no-hit guys and the only reason I had a good glove was Jimmie Reese. He would hit me fungoes any time I asked and I always asked. He would hit them left, then right until you were exhausted. And he always led you by just enough that it took all your effort to catch it.

“I know we all have to die, but there are some people you just don’t want to part with. Jimmie always made you feel like you were special. He listened like you were the only one around. It was sincere, devoted friendship.”

Karen Medlong developed a similar attachment to Reese through her work as a manager at the Jolly Roger Inn where Reese usually stayed during Angel home stands. She spent a lot of time trying to wriggle some juicy gossip from him, but never succeeded.

“You’d hear a rumor about a player who was a real jerk, but the worst Jimmie would ever say was, ‘Oh, he’s OK.”’ she said. “He never said a bad word about anyone. Of course, I don’t think anyone has ever said a bad word about him.

“All I know is the world would be a lot better place if there were a few more like him.”

George Garan owns a cold storage firm close to Anaheim Stadium and met Reese at an Angel team function more than 20 years ago. “He picked out my season tickets and said, ‘Now, all you have to do is pay for them,’ ” Garan said, laughing.

“Jimmie was the best human being I’ve ever met,” Garan said. “He loved three things besides baseball, ice cream, his favorite deli and cigars. At least I was able to make sure the freezer in his Westwood apartment was always stocked with Dreyer’s.”

David Benter, a postal worker from Garden Grove, spoke to Reese once a year, but he too feels as if he has lost a friend. As an 11-year-old, Benter got an autograph from Reese before a spring training game.

“I didn’t know who Jimmie Reese was and he obviously wasn’t a player, but there was a crowd around him, so I asked for an autograph,” Benter said. “He signed it and made a point of talking to me. He asked me how long I’d been an Angel fan and who my favorite player was.

“I’ve talked to him almost every spring since then. To me, he is the Angels. He’s a link to the past, a past that will hopefully come back.”

Reese’s legacy will have to carry the burden of bringing back the good old days.

He’s busy hitting fungoes to angels in the outfield.