Joseph Henry Nuxhall, born July 30, 1928, sadly recently passed away on November 15, 2007. He was a Major League Baseball pitcher for sixteen seasons. He compiled a career ERA of 3.90 and a Won-Lost record of 135-117. Long known as "the old lefthander," Nuxhall is most often remembered for becoming the youngest player ever to appear in a modern Major League game when on June 10, 1944, at age 15 years, 10 months, and 11 days, he pitched 2/3 of an inning for the Cincinnati Reds.

Nuxhall spent almost 15 of his 16 Major League seasons with Cincinnati, where he was a two-time National League All-Star and led the league in shutouts in 1955. He also played for the Kansas City Athletics and Los Angeles Angels in the American League.

Nuxhall retired from the Reds in April, 1967 and immediately began his second career as a Reds broadcaster. His trademark radio signoff phrase -- "...Rounding third and heading for home" -- is displayed on the outside of the Reds' stadium, Great American Ball Park, which opened in 2003. A likeness of Nuxhall is one of four statues -- along with others depicting Ernie Lombardi, Ted Kluszewski , and Frank Robinson -- that decorate the main entrance of the stadium. He was elected to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1968, and officially retired from the Reds on October 3, 2004, 60 years after his pitching debut.