Goodbye Joe Nuxhall

CINCINNATI, OHIO - The youngest player to play in a major league game died on this date in 2007. Joe Nuxhall was 79.

Nuxhall made it to the "show" at the age of 15 when he was called up by the Cincinnati Reds on June 10, 1944. It was the height of World War II. Able bodied ballplayers of a more mature age were hard to come by because they were all in the service. The 15-year old Nuxhall would have made it nowhere near a major league mound without a ticket, had it not been for the War.

It was not an auspicious beginning. Nuxhall was brought in to mop up a game pretty much out of reach already for the Reds. They were down 13-0 to the St. Louis Cardinals when Nuxhall entered the game in the 9th. He proceeded to give up 5 earned runs on 5 walks, 2 hits and a wild pitch. He was shipped back to the minors after the game, not to return for eight years.

Nuxhall went on to have a fine career when he returned to the Reds in 1953. He won 17 games in 1955, 15 in 1963. His career record was 135-117. He wasn't a bad hitting pitcher either, finishing with 15 home runs and 78 RBI. Nuxhall was a victim of bad timing when he was traded to the Kansas City A's in 1961, missing Cincinnati's only appearance in the World Series during his playing career. He returned to the Reds in 1962.

Nuxhall experienced three World Series championships with the Reds (1975, 1976 & 1990) though, as their broadcaster from 1967 to 2004.

Contributing sources:
The Associated Press (AP), June 11, 1944
More on Joe Nuxhall

This baseball history calendar is brought to you by TODAY in BASEBALL. Spread the word. Link www.todayinbaseball.com to your website.