SO, JUST WHO WAS JOE NUXALL?

Joseph Henry Nuxhall (July 30, 1928 – November 15, 2007) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Cincinnati Reds. He held the team's record for career games pitched (484) from 1965 to 1975, and still holds the team mark for left-handers, though he was long most remembered for having been the youngest player ever to appear in a major league game in the modern era, pitching 2/3 of an inning for the Reds on June 10, 1944 at the age of 15 years,316 days due to player shortages during World War II. Long known as "The Ol' Left-hander," he compiled a career earned run average of 3.90 and a record of 135-117 during his 16-season career, with all but 5 of his victories being earned with the Reds. After retiring as a player, he became a broadcaster for the Reds from 1967 through 2004. Nuxhall died in 2007 after a long battle with cancer.
The Reds remembered Nuxhall on their 2008 Opening Day. Players wore an alternate jersey during their introductions, which bore the number 41 and Nuxhall's name on the back. Aaron Harang, who usually wears the number 39 jersey, was allowed by MLB to wear the number 41 jersey with Nuxhall's name for the entire game. Nuxhall's number 41 was honored by the team displaying it in left-center field over the Reds' bull pen. Reds players wore patches with "Nuxy" and his number 41 on them as a tribute.

“I was pitching against seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders, kids 13 and 14 years old... All of a sudden, I look up and there's Stan Musial and the likes. It was a very scary situation.”