June 10, 1944 – The youngest player in MLB history makes his debut. Relief pitcher Joe Nuxhall at 15 years, 316 days, took the mound for the Cincinnati Reds. The current rules for Major League Baseball require athletes to be at least 18 years of age, but back then there was no such rule.
Nuxhall stood 6 foot-2 inches tall when in the ninth grade in Hamilton, Ohio. On the hill, he was a left-hander with a hard fastball but didn’t have the best placement of pitches. His father Orville Nuxhall was playing minor league ball and in 1943, the father-son tandem was playing together.
The Reds organization was trying to sign Orville to a contract but he declined on the account of having five kids at home. The scouts then became interested in Joe, who was only 14 at the time. Joe Nuxall would become an All-Star and later a radio broadcaster of MLB games.
To find more great daily sports history make sure to check out the Sports Jersey Dispatch and Pigskin Dispatch.
More From Sports History Network
Roulette formats available in online gaming platforms
The casino industry is undergoing a digital revolution, transforming traditional table games into cutting-edge
How Sport Learned to Prove It Was Fair: A Short History
Every contest rests on a single fragile assumption: that the result was honest. From
The Decade of New and Improved Stadiums
If you would be asked to name one particular decade where the pro football
Big Ten Men’s Basketball Best Season (1988-89′)
As a lifelong fan of the Big Ten Conference, particularly a fan of the
Forgotten Matches That Deserve a Second Look
Finals or viral moments keep some matches alive. Others fail to take off despite
1972 Los Angeles Lakers: Beating 17 Years of Frustration
From 1949 to 1954, the Minneapolis Lakers won five NBA titles. They reached the
When the Odds Were Wrong: Historic World Series Upsets
Image by Nattapol_Sritongcom on Magnific Baseball history has always had room for the unexpected.
6 Best Online Golf Simulator Retailers: A First-Time Buyer’s Guide for 2026
Putting together a home golf simulator is far more involved than most people expect,