In 1938, Johnny Vander Meer accomplished a feat that may never be duplicated.  He threw two consecutive no-hitters.  Imagine that happening today?  Neither can we.

Mullane arrived in Cincinnati as a seasoned veteran of the professional game and immediately matured into the centerpiece of the rotation. He was a pioneer in every sense, most famously for his ability to throw with either hand, a switch-pitching prowess that allowed him to alternate arms based on a hitter’s weakness or to combat the immense fatigue of the era. He emerged as a statistical titan from the moment he joined the club, using this tactical outlier to navigate a grueling schedule that would break most arms.

The absolute pinnacle of his effectiveness was reached in the late 1880s, a period when he served as an iron man for the franchise. Mullane was a master of endurance, spanning three seasons in which he surpassed 400 innings pitched, a workload that stands as a monument to his physical resilience. He wasn't just piling up innings; he was an efficiency machine who secured five separate 20-win campaigns and a pair of extraordinary 30-win seasons for the Reds. He possessed a rare blend of speed and deception that made him a perennial threat on the leaderboard and served as the high-stakes anchor for the Cincinnati staff during its formative years.

His identity was synonymous with a refined, "gentlemanly" persona that made him a massive draw at the gate, though he played with a fierce, competitive resolve that often put him at odds with management. Mullane was the tactical heartbeat of the team for nearly a decade, using his unique arm flexibility to remain a high-leverage producer even as the rules of the game evolved around him. Whether he was baffling a hitter with a left-handed curve or overpowering them with a right-handed heater, he competed with a professional poise that made him a local immortal.

The chapter concluded in 1893, when the veteran workhorse finally parted ways with the organization. He left the city as a statistical pillar and one of the most prolific winners in the history of the sport, having secured 163 of his 284 career victories in a Cincinnati uniform.

While his lack of a plaque in Cooperstown remains one of the great debates of the 19th-century game, his impact on the franchise was finally etched in stone a century later. In 2010, the organization provided the long-overdue punctuation on his legacy by inducting Tony Mullane into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

Maloney surfaced in the Queen City at the dawn of the 1960s and rapidly established himself as a premier power pitcher in the National League. He arrived with a blistering fastball that appeared to rise as it reached the plate, a gift he used to overwhelm hitters during a period when the league was transitioning toward a new level of athleticism. Between 1963 and 1966, he authored a sustained stretch of excellence, capturing back-to-back 20-win seasons and cementing his status as the tactical leader of the Cincinnati staff.

The absolute height of his dominance was on full display in 1965, a season that saw him reach the peak of his craft. That year, Maloney was a master of the high-stakes moment, famously throwing two no-hitters—including a legendary ten-inning masterpiece that, while technically unofficial by modern scoring rules, remains one of the most gritty performances ever seen on a mound. He earned his first All-Star selection that summer, but his value was far deeper than a single mid-season nod; he finished his stay in Cincinnati with 134 wins and a staggering 1,592 strikeouts.

In 1973, he became the lone inductee into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame,

Arriving via Brooklyn in a trade, Ernie Lombardi established himself in the Cincinnati lineup in the early 30s and quickly morphed into the premier offensive catcher in the National League. He emerged with a specialized, interlocking grip and a swing that produced line drives of terrifying velocity, a necessity given that he had to hit the ball twice as hard as anyone else just to reach first base. Between 1935 and 1940, he authored a sustained stretch of excellence, recording seven different .300 campaigns for the Reds. He was a model of specialized efficiency, proving that a hitter could dominate the leaderboard without the benefit of speed, provided they possessed the most sophisticated hand-eye coordination of their generation.

The absolute high-water mark of his career arrived in 1938, a season of such profound dominance that he became a national icon. That summer, Lombardi stood as the undisputed king of the plate, capturing the National League Batting Title with a .342 average. His value was so undeniable that he was named the National League MVP, becoming a rare catcher to take home the hardware. He followed that masterpiece by serving as the tactical heartbeat of the 1939 and 1940 pennant-winning squads, providing the veteran poise and high-leverage bat that anchored the "Jungle Cats" through their 1940 World Series championship run.

Even though he lacked the "look" of a traditional athlete, he proved that a player could become the face of a franchise through a rare combination of raw power and elite contact skills. In 1942, Lombardi moved on to the Boston Braves, but he left as a World Series hero. He departed the city with a .311 average in a Reds uniform and a legacy as one of the most respected players to ever step onto the diamond.

The ultimate recognition of his impact arrived in waves, cementing his status as a permanent part of the game's architecture. In 1958, the organization selected him as one of the five legendary men comprising the inaugural Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame class. The final punctuation on his storied career came in 1986, when Ernie Lombardi was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.