It's a classic baseball trivia question. Q: Who was the youngest person to ever play in a major league baseball game? A: Joe Nuxhall. Well, he's no longer so young. In fact, he's dead.
Joe Nuxhall, who was the youngest player in major league history and the beloved "old left-hander" on Cincinnati Reds radio broadcasts, died overnight following a bout with cancer, the team said Friday. He was 79. Nuxhall's health problems multiplied in recent years but couldn't keep him away from the game or the broadcast booth for long. He had surgery for prostate cancer in 1992, followed by a mild heart attack in 2001. The cancer returned last February, when Nuxhall was preparing for the Reds' spring training in Sarasota, Fla. The broadcaster called some games last season even though his left leg was swollen by tumors. He was hospitalized again this week.
...Nuxhall's place in baseball lore was secured the moment he stepped onto a big-league field. With major league rosters depleted during World War II, he got a chance to pitch in relief for the Reds on June 10, 1944. No one in modern baseball history has played in the majors at such a young age -- 15 years, 10 months, 11 days old. He got two outs against St. Louis before losing his composure, then went eight years before pitching for the Reds again.
At the risk of tearing down the proverbial fourth wall here, you should know I thought of that headline before I saw his signature sign-off mentioned in the article.
1 comment:
Contrary to popular opinion, Nuxhall is not the youngest former Reds pitcher to die in 2007. That honor belongs to Vern Ruhle.
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