2023 Reds Hall of Fame Induction Celebration

The franchise’s all-time leader in career saves with 182, Danny Graves was the Reds’ primary closer in five of his seven full seasons with the club. Graves led the Reds in saves in each of those five seasons and is one of only six pitchers in franchise history to lead the team in saves in four consecutive seasons. His 41 saves in 2004 ranks third in franchise history for most saves in a single season. A National League All-Star in 2000 and 2004, Graves finished in the top-10 in the league in saves four times during his career. In 2000, he won both the Ernie Lombardi Award as the Reds’ Most Valuable Player and the Johnny Vander Meer Award as the club’s top pitcher. He is one of only four pitchers in franchise history to win each of these club honors. In franchise history, only four pitchers have totaled more games pitched with the Reds than Graves’ 465. In 2002, Graves was the winner of the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award which is given annually to the player who best exemplifies the spirit and character of Lou Gehrig on and off the field. The only Vietnamese-born player in Major League history, Danny Graves will be the fourth relief pitcher inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame.

One of the most impactful general managers in Reds history, Gabe Paul’s tenure was marked by decisions that forever altered the trajectory of the franchise. Paul began his Reds career as the club’s traveling secretary in 1936. He later served as the club’s publicity director and it was in that capacity that Paul co-founded the annual Kid Glove Game in 1949. Promoted to general manager in 1951, Paul spearheaded the Reds’ aggressive pursuit of African American players. The club’s color barrier was broken with the arrival of Nino Escalera and Chuck Harmon in 1954 and, two years later, Frank Robinson made his debut. The first Red to win National League Rookie of the Year honors, Robinson was a linchpin on the 1956 Reds team that was in contention for the pennant until the last weekend of the season. That club tied the then-Major League record for home runs by a club in a season, and the excitement surrounding it resulted in the Reds’ breaking the 1 million mark in home attendance for the first time in franchise history. Paul was named the Executive of the Year by the Sporting News following the 1956 season. Also at Paul’s behest, the Reds focused on the cultivation of Latino talent. Paul established an affiliation agreement with the Havana Sugar Kings, a relationship that opened a rich pipeline of talent from Cuba that led to the signings of Tony Perez, Leo Cardenas and a host of other notable Latino players. In Paul also traded for or signed a host of players who would make major contributions to the Reds including Gus Bell, Jerry Lynch, Jim Maloney, Jim O’Toole, Bob Purkey and Pete Rose, among many others. It was under Paul’s watch that the foundation of the club’s 1961 National League championship club was built and the first two cornerstones of the Big Red Machine, Perez and Rose, were acquired. And it was also during Paul’s time as Reds general manager that the club worked with the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce to establish the Reds Hall of Fame in 1958. Paul, who died in 1998 at the age of 88, will be the fourth general manager inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame.