This Day in Reds History: The world welcomes Joe Nuxhall

On this day in 1905, the Reds bought catcher Gabby Street from the Boston Beaneaters (Braves). In February, I wrote about Street's life in baseball.

On this day in 1922, the Reds bought lefty Rube Benton from the Giants. Benton had started his big league career in Cincinnati in 1910. While with the Reds in 1912, he led the league in games started, batters faced, and home runs allowed per nine innings. Cincinnati sold him to New York for $3,000 in the summer of 1915. He spent seven years in Manhattan with John McGraw and the Giants. Despite him changing hands in the midst of the 1922 season, Benton played in the American Association (AA) with the St. Paul Saints for the entirety of the year. Benton pitched for the Reds again from 1923 to 1925. He pitched well enough but returned to the minors for good in 1926 at the age of 36. Upon his return to minor league ball, Benton played for the Minneapolis Millers of the AA until his retirement after the 1933 season. Oddly enough, despite his longtime association with the Twin Cities, Benton was not from Minnesota, or even the Midwest, but from North Carolina. He died in a car crash in Alabama in 1937 at the age of 47.

On this day in 1928, Reds Hall of Famer Joe Nuxhall was born in Hamilton, OH. As you know, I normally like to share a fun story or revealing statistic about a favorite or interesting player, but what can I possibly say about Joe? Most of you have your own story or memory of the "Ol' Lefthander", and nothing I write here would feel real to those of you who knew the man from his years of broadcasting.

On this day in 1996, the Reds traded second baseman Roberto Mejia and pitching prospect Brad Tweedlie to the Boston Red Sox for outfielder Kevin Mitchell. Much like he had during his earlier stint in Cincinnati, Mitchell tore the cover off the ball for the Reds. He hit .325/.447/.579 (169 OPS+) in 37 games for the Reds that season.

On this day in 2003, the Reds traded rightfielder Jose Guillen to Oakland for righty Aaron Harang, righty Joe Valentine, and pitching prospect Jeff Bruksch.

Also on this day in 2003, the Reds traded reliever Scott Williamson to the Red Sox for lefty Phil Dumatrait and a player to be named later who ended up being lefty Tyler Pelland.

On this day in 2004, the Reds sent closer Todd Jones and minor leaguer Brad Correll to the Phillies for right-hander Josh Hancock and shortstop Anderson Machado.

On this day in 2007, the Reds traded right-hander Kyle Lohse to Philadelphia for lefty Matt Maloney.