This Day in Reds History: Pramesa powers Cincy to victory

On this day in 1908, former Red and Hall of Famer Rube Marquard made his major league debut with the Giants at the age of 21. Marquard made his first appearance against the Reds. Cincinnati battered him for seven hits and five runs in five innings, handing him the loss.

Marquard pitched for the Reds in 1921, earning a 17-14 record with a 3.39 ERA (105 ERA+) in 36 starts. He is considered one of the weakest players in the Hall of Fame. His contributions to The Glory of Their Times may have kickstarted his election. Humorously, many of his anecdotes in the book were later found to be false (Wikipedia).

On this day in 1929, Hall of Famer Miller Huggins died in New York at the age of 51. He is best known for his days managing the Yankees of the Babe Ruth era. Huggins also played for the Reds for six seasons, leading the league in walks twice in that time. As I've mentioned before, Huggins is one of the few players in baseball history to have an on-base percentage higher than his slugging average. Huggins died of pyaemia, which is apparently a type of septicemia (blood poisoning).

On this day in 1951, catcher Johnny Pramesa launched a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to give the Reds a 7-3 victory over the Cardinals.

On this day in 1959, the Redlegs signed catcher Jerry Zimmerman. The Orioles had released him earlier in the day.

On this day in 1969, former Red David "Stormy" Weathers was born in Lawrenceburg, TN.

On this day in 1980, the Reds beat the Padres, 5-3, but Cincinnati allows Jerry Mumphrey to steal his 50th bag of the season. Teammates Ozzie Smith and Gene Richards already had 50+ steals, thus making San Diego the first team in history to have three men with 50+ steals. This isn't a Reds fact, but I think it's pretty cool.

On this day in 1992, the Reds released corner player Russ Morman. He never appeared in a major league game with Cincinnati.