This book is a 'year by year and day by day' log of Reds events. It's great.
1) June 10, 1944
Joe Nuxhall becomes the youngest player to appear in a major league game IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY when he pitches 2/3 of an inning against the Cardinals at Crosley. Nuxy was 15 years, 10 months, and 11 days old. He entered the game with the Cards leading 13-0, and allowed 5 runs on 2 hits and 5 walks to make the final tally 18-0. Nuxhall didn't pitch in another big league game until 1952. The youngest player in major league history is Fred Chapman, who pitched for Philadelphia in the American Association on
July 22, 1887 at the age of 14 years, 7 months and 28 days. It was Chapman's only major league game.
2) May 19, 1956
Ray Jablonski hits 2 homers to give the Reds a 7-6 win over the Dodgers at Ebbetts Field. For the first time, the Reds announcers (Waite Hoyt and Jack Moran in 1956) traveled to all away games. Prior to 1956, most road games were recreated in Cincinnati from teletype reports. Re-creations were revived from 1958 through 1961 for games originating in LA or Frisco.
3) June 19, 1973
Pete Rose collects his 2,000th career hit and Fred Norman shuts out the Giants 4-0 in San Francisco. After the game, Rose said, "I can't be the all-time hit leader. Ty Cobb got more than 4,000." At the time any thought that he could someday catch Cobb's record of 4,191 hits seemed preposterous, even to the ever-confident Rose, 32 years old at the time. There have been 19 players who have reached the 2,000 hit mark before turning 32, and none of them came close to reaching 4,000 except Cobb himself. When Cobb turned 32 years of age he had 2,524 career hits.
4) November 21, 1980
Tom Hume and Bill Bonham and their wives are rescued from a real-life drama, a deadly fire at the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas in which 84 people perished. The foursome was airlifted off the roof of the building by helicopter. Gary Nolan was employed as a card dealer at the casino, but wasn't on duty at the time.
5) May 9, 1994
Tom Browning breaks his arm in a frightening scene during a 3-2 win over the Padres in San Diego. Browning collapsed in agonizing pain a split second after delivering the pitch. The sound of the bone shattering 3 inches below the tip of his shoulder could be heard throughout the stadium. This was Browning's last game with the Reds. He tried to come back with the Royals in 1995, but lasted only 2 games. He started 298 games in his Cincinnati career, fourth on the all-time Reds list. His 123 victories are 12th.
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