Exactly 71 years ago today – on June 10, 1944 – the Cincinnati Reds were getting blown out 11-0 by the St. Louis Cardinals. Reds manager Bill McKechnie brought in a rookie pitcher for mop-up duty.

The rookie’s name was Joe Nuxhall ─ and baseball history was made that day.

After getting the first batter, Nuxhall walked pitcher Mort Cooper. After getting the second out, Nuxhall wild-pitched Cooper to second, and then he walked third-baseman Debs Garms to put runners on first and second with two outs.

Stan Musial singled to load the bases.

Nuxhall then lost all semblance of control by walking first-baseman Ray Sanders, catcher Walker Cooper, and left-fielder Danny Litwhiler to force in three runs and make it 16-0 Cards. Second-baseman Emil Verban then hit a two-run single to make it 18-0 Cards.

McKechnie finally showed mercy by removing the rookie.

By then, Nuxhall had given up five runs on two hits and five walks in his major league debut. What made this outing historical was the fact that Joe Nuxhall was 15-years-and-316 days old ─ making him the youngest player to ever appear in a major league game.

Two weeks earlier, Nuxhall was a ninth-grader playing high-school basketball in nearby Hamilton, Ohio.

How did this come about?

From 1942 to 1945, the U.S. was engaged in World War II and many big-league players were serving in the armed forces. Ergo, there was a player shortage as the war waged on.

Big-league scouts for the Reds were scouring the boondocks in 1943 and heard about Orville Nuxhall, who was pitching lights out in a semi-pro league in Hamilton. The reason Orville wasn’t off fighting in WW II was because he was the father of five children. That was also the reason why Orville turned down an offer to play for the Reds ─ they weren’t offering him enough money to support his family.

The scouts then turned their attention to Orville’s son, Joe, who was 14 at that time. The 6-2 youngster had a lively fastball, but was wild.

The scouts waited a full year.

As soon as Joe Nuxhall’s high-school basketball season was over in 1944, the Reds signed him to a big-league contract.

Nuxhall remembers his first game like so:

“I was pitching against seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-graders, kids thirteen and fourteen years old. All of a sudden I look up and there’s Stan Musial in the batter’s box. It was a scary situation.”

After that initial outing, Nuxhall went down to the minors and spent five years working his way back up to the majors.

He made it back in 1952 and pitched in the big leagues for 16 seasons. He turned into a better-than-average pitcher with a lifetime record of 135-117.

Barry Bowe is the author of Born to Be Wild, 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant, and 12 Best Eagles QBs.