Sad day for Reds Fans- Joe has Rounded 3rd and headed home!Joe passed away overnight

[redsfan4445]

I just woke and heard Joe Nuxhall Passed away overnight. I was soooooooo hoping he would pull thru this and later in 2008, be able to go into the Hall of Fame and stand on the podium.. gave me tears hearing the sad news.

[StillFunkyB]

This is very sad news.

I don't know why they are not reporting this on Fox 19 Morning News right now....


Nevermind... They are just reporting this now.

[redsfan4445]

My radio turned on to wake me and its on WLW

[Ltlabner]

I just woke and heard Joe Nuxhall Passed away overnight. I was soooooooo hoping he would pull thru this and later in 2008, be able to go into the Hall of Fame and stand on the podium.. gave me tears hearing the sad news.

Damn.

Fox 19 is reporting it right not. Dan Carroll spoke with Donzetta (sp?) to confirm it.

Thanks for everything Joe.

[SandyD]

very, very sorry to hear this

[membengal]

Thanks for all the good memories you provided me, Joe. Starting as a five-year-old listening to Reds games in secret after bed-time in 1975, you enriched my life.

Peace.

[StillFunkyB]

Thanks for all the good memories you provided me, Joe. Starting as a five-year-old listening to Reds games in secret after bed-time in 1975, you enriched my life.

Peace.

You know, some people wonder why we gripe about how bad some sports announcers are....

Well, it's because we get spoiled by guys like Joe.

[icehole3]

Thanks for all the good memories you provided me, Joe. Starting as a five-year-old listening to Reds games in secret after bed-time in 1975, you enriched my life.

Peace.


same here

[WMR]

:(

[RedsBaron]

:( R.I.P. He will be missed.

[jojo]

This news feels like a ballgame on a rainy day...
http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/sad029.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)


But, welcome home Joe.

http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/angelic013.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

[Cyclone792]

Thanks for the memories, Joe. You will truly be missed.

[mth123]

Very sad news. Joe was an institution and he was the one constant with the Reds for my entire life. I didn't listen to the WLW broadcast much the last couple years but I tried to catch it when Joe was on. Things just won't be the same.

Bless you Joe and prayers for your family.

[Reds Fanatic]

RIP Joe. You were truly one of a kind and will be missed.

[LoganBuck]

RIP Joe

I loved your joy and enthusiasm for the game of baseball and life in general. You and your family will be in my prayers.

[Phhhl]

A very tough way to start the day. Joe will be dearly missed.

[RollyInRaleigh]

Joe was the first Red that I met at the fantasy camp a few years back. He was walking up to the hotel and asked me where I was from and treated me like he had known me for years. My fondest memories are from when I was a youngster in our backyard, throwing a rubber ball against our house and listening to Joe call the Reds games with Jim McIntyre, Al Michaels, and Marty. He was the Reds to me. I will truly miss hearing him on the radio. The Reds will never be the same without him.

[Sabo Fan]

Very sad day for Reds baseball. It really is a shame that Joe wasn't inducted into the Hall of Fame before he passed away but hopefully it will happen this year. It would be a fitting tribute.

[RFS62]

RIP Joe.

Nobody ever loved the game more than you did.

[deltachi8]

Very sad day. I'll miss the ol' lefthander as he finally makes it home.

[remdog]

I just got up and I saw this. Sad. A truly good guy. He will be missed. Joe was a living legend.

Rem

[Boss-Hog]

I'm very saddened by this news. Like so many others, I grew up listening to Marty & Joe and will miss the unmatched enthusiasm he had for the Reds. My thoughts are with his family...may he rest in peace.

[MikeS21]

Certainly not a good way to start the day, to hear this sad news. Love and prayers to Joe's wife and family.

First time I remember hearing Joe on the radio was about 1971, when I became a fan of the Reds. This morning's news of his passing has brought a flood of memories. He will be sorely missed.

[paintmered]

Joe was the soundtrack for my youth. He will be missed. :(

[cumberlandreds]

I just heard the sad news on ESPN radio. Joe was a big part of my baseball life. I grew up listening to him first with Al Michaels and then Marty. He was a class act all the way. He never degraded a ballplayer,umpire,front office people or the fans. He would be critical but in sort of a nice way that didn't anger anyone. Rest in peace and may your family be comforted during this time of sorrow. He left an indelible impression on thousands if not millions of Reds fans who will remember him forever. The Ole Lefthander is rounding third and heading to his final home.

[Highlifeman21]

After meeting Joe at Twin Run in Hamilton in 1999, 3 things stay with me from that encounter.

1. Joe loves baseball and the Reds.
2. Joe loves younger adults/kids.
3. Joe raved about the hot dogs at the Twin Run concession stand.

In a 15-20 min chat while I was scoreboard watching, we talked about the Reds, my golf game, and at least 4 times he told me I was missing out if I didn't get a hot dog. One of the genuinely nice guys around, and a great ambassador for the Reds. RIP Joe. This Reds fan already misses you.

[WrongVerb]

Godspeed Joe, and thank you for the wonderful memories. Love ya, you ol' left hander.

[LoganBuck]

Nice article on Joe's passing from AP

http://stats.nypost.com/mlb/story.asp?i=20071116114147410000101&ref=hea&tm=

[dabvu2498]

Joe was the soundtrack for my youth. He will be missed. :(

For the first 29 years of my life, I didn't think it was possible for anyone else to do Reds baseball on the radio.

I already miss him.

Rest in peace, Joe.

[redsmetz]

A whole bunch of random thoughts about Nuxie this morning. I'm wearing my Reds t-shirt at work today in his honor. Very sad and I forwarded the news on to my kids this morning.

Nuxie started his broadcasting career when I was at the end of my 6th grade year. Typing this now, I realize he began that segment of his career a few weeks after my grandma died (my grandma who stayed with my uncle's family in Florida every winter and who would go up to Tampa while she was there - she taught me to be a Reds fan!). He broadcast until my oldest was out of college and was broadcasting still - so he's my childhood and my kids' childhood.

My younger daughter spent last winter's semester studying in Mexico. She wrote a blog while down there and we laughed when she wrote this:


and on sunday night, leah and kelly and i walked to the centro and went to a catholic church on the zócalo. it was a franciscan church and the priest´s preaching reminded me somewhat of the way joe nuxhall announced baseball (lots of long pauses, just long enough for you to forget someone was ever talking, and just short enough that you´re startled when he starts talking again).

I just thought that was classic.

I'm a transportation consultant and started working for my dad while in college back in the spring of 1975. I remember being told back then that during the off-season, Nuxie worked as a salesman for the old Klug Direct Lines, a small trucking outfit based in Hamilton. Back then the players had to work in the offseason and it wasn't uncommon for ballplayers to have this sort of sales position. Back then, trucking rates were highly regulated and everyone more or less had the same rates. So a personality like Nuxhall got him in the door in places where the traffic manager ordinarily didn't want to be bothered.

I talked yesterday about how Nux rarely actually ever asked a question in his post-game shows. Frankly it was part of his charm.

Didn't you love a Red to hit a home run when Joe was in the booth, whether he was calling it himself or he was hollering in the back, "Get out of here, get out of here!".

This entry from Wikipedia recounts his first game.


On June 10, the Reds were playing the first place St. Louis Cardinals at Crosley Field and trailing 13-0 in the ninth inning when Manager Bill McKechnie called on Nuxhall to enter the game. He started well, retiring two of the first three batters he faced. But he was unable to get the third out of the inning, and ended up allowing five walks, two hits, one wild pitch and five runs before being relieved. He spent the rest of the 1944 season in the minor leagues.

I recall Nux saying he looked over and saw Musial (who had won the MVP the year before) and realized what he was doing and that was all she wrote. I've emailed one columnist this morning who is from Missouri to suggest he find out Musial's reaction. Fifteen years old and pitching against the then 1st place team. Wow. And he came back.

The Reds scout, I heard, had actually come to see Nux's dad pitch, players being so scarce because of the war, and saw Joe pitch.

He lived to see a statue erected of himself and his signature saying plastered on the team's stadium. Hey, even his mother lived to see those things. Not bad for a boy from Hamilton.

I assume we'll see some Nuxhall patches on the uniforms this year.

Sad, sad day in all of Redsland.

[MrCinatit]

Joe helped us love the Reds even though the tough times because he loved the Reds.
Time to break out the '76 album and '90 tape and listen to some memories.

Rest in peace, big guy.

[Bob Borkowski]

So sorry to hear of Joe's passing.

So many on here don't remember him as a player. I recall that he was a good pitcher in the 50's but really didn't gain full control of his talent until he returned to the Reds in 1962.

Also, whenever he was on the 'Star of the Game Show' with Waite Hoyt (or whoever) during those years you could see that he had the 'gift for gab' that would serve him so well as a broadcaster.

Joe was one of a kind. My prayers to the family.

[BuckeyeRedleg]

Rest in Peace, Joe.

You were such a big part of my life growing up.

You'll be missed as if you were a member of my own family.

Bless you, Old Lefthander.

[MWM]

This makes me sad. My first memories of the Reds were listening to Marty and Joe. He was a one of a kind and I'll miss him dearly.

[BuckWoody]

It's very nearly like losing a favorite uncle. Joe was Reds baseball for me. Thoughts and prayers go to his family.

Opening Day is going to be very hard to get through this year without a lot of tears.

Rest in peace, Joe.

[WrongVerb]

Joe's homerun calls were legendary, as we all know. My favorite memory, though has to be his call of Rose's 4192. I was lucky enough to be at the game, so I actually didn't get to hear it live. Only afterwards, during replays, did I hear him willing Pete's hit to fall in short left-center. "Get down, ball! Get down!"

[Strikes Out Looking]

Joe was a class act all the way around. My thoughts and prayers go out to his blood family as well as his Red's family who loved him very much.

I met him a number of times through the years, and a couple of years ago at fantasy camp was lucky enough to spend a great deal of time with him. As we were both a couple of kids from Hamilton (only about 36 years apart in age), we knew a number of the same people and families. In Fairfield, he lived about a mile from my own parents. I can be rather prickly and usually don't like alot of people, but Joe was one of the nicest, genuine people I have ever met. My life has been enriched by knowing him and by listening to him for years.

[bucksfan2]

Im 25 years old and when I was a kid in grade school the radio was still the place you got your baseball from. I remember staying up late listening to my clock radio when the reds were out west. I listend to the reds on radio a lot and remember the glory days of Joe on the radio. He was fun to listen to and had a great way of announcing the game. He was a homer for the reds, loved the reds, but was still a very good anouncer.

Unfortunatly he hung around for too long. I was driving to work and was hearing some of his old calls and forgot how priceless and great they were. For me it took that to get the past 5 season out of my head. Just his call of Oliver knocking in Bates in the 90 world series brought back my best baseball memories.

Joe will be missed. Not only as a red but also in the community. He was truely a guy who gave everything he had back to the community. I only met the guy twice at his golf outing and it was a brief hand shake.

[OldRightHander]

I'm sitting here in the Flying J in Toledo just trying to digest this. I woke up and heard something on Baseball This Morning and then turned over to WLW. I figured the fitting thing would be to wear my Reds shirt today. I'm here in a truck stop with tears in my eyes, maybe not the manly image you would expect to see in such a place, but I don't really care.

I have said so many things about Joe over the years here that I don't know if there is anything left to say. He was just one of those constant things over the years, especially during my youth. He was the soundtrack of summer. I heard someone say, maybe Daugherty but I'm not sure, that Joe was like a cold glass of lemonade on a hot day, something you took your time with and savored.

Joe taught me a lot about life in general, not those grand lessons that determine our eternal fate or anything like that, but just how to enjoy life and get everything out of each moment. He was never in a hurry. The couple times I met him in public settings it seemed that he took time with each person, no matter how long the line was. I learned from people like him that life is to be enjoyed and that it is enjoyed most if lived at a slower pace.

I remember so many calls that still stick in my mind to this day. Bench's homer, Billy Bates, Concepcion's red seater, Taubensee's red seater (be a fair ball baby, be a fair ball!), and so many others I don't have the time or space to relate at the moment.

In short, I feel like I just lost my best friend, my grandfather, and a mentor all at the same time. Joe didn't broadcast baseball, he was baseball. He has rounded third and made it safely home. He will be missed.

[toledodan]

I'm very saddened by this news. Like so many others, I grew up listening to Marty & Joe and will miss the unmatched enthusiasm he had for the Reds. My thoughts are with his family...may he rest in peace.


:(

my very thoughts as well. thank you for everything you did and GOD BLESS!

[919191]

Wow. The last couple of years, when Joe did the game, I took a radio and a few beers to the backyard and listened to the game instead of sitting in front of the TV. I tried to explain to my wife why, but she really didn't get it. Some of my earliest memories are my mom sitting in the kitchen listening to Joe and McIntyre on the radio. It won't be the same, but nothing from your childhood is when experienced as an adult I guess.

RIP Joe.

[Heath]

Well, if it's any consolation, he's free of any pain and problems he had over the last few years.

Prayers to the family in their time of loss.

[chicoruiz]

From a selfish point of view, we all would have liked to have Joe around for much longer. But all in all, those were 79 pretty good years...a career making a good living at the game you love, married sixty years to your soulmate, a couple of good kids, making the world a little better place through charitable activities, more friends than you can count...that's a life well lived; I'd take that. Well done, Nuxie.

[redsmetz]

Here's Erardi's piece from the Enquirer's website


Marty and Joe: Soundtrack of summer
Broadcasting duo will be forever linked
BY JOHN ERARDI | JERARDI@ENQUIRER.COM

As a broadcaster, Joe Nuxhall was no Vin Scully when it came to using the language.

But the Ol’ Lefthander’s style – folksy and relaxed – made for easy listening.

Curt Smith has written three books on baseball broadcasting and is regarded as the pre-eminent chronicler of what sports announcers call a broadcasting art form. In his 2005 book “Voices of Summer: Ranking Baseball’s All-Time Best Announcers,” Smith rated Nuxhall 95th.

For comparison, Waite Hoyt, who like Nuxhall was a former major-league pitcher and, (mostly with the Yankees, where his work got him elected to the Hall of Fame) could do Reds’ play-by-play and color commentary with equal aplomb, was rated 62nd.

It says something about the quality of Nuxhall’s down-home approach – something that played so well with longtime broadcasting partner Marty Brennaman’s, crisp, critical and sometimes caustic style – that “The Ol’ Lefthander” would rate so highly in Smith’s analysis.

“He would have been run out of Boston or New York, but he was perfect for Cincinnati,” Smith said in 2006, when the Reds were deciding who would replace Steve Stewart and team with Brennaman in the booth.

Nuxhall retired after the 2004 season -- though he continued to work select games -- and it was difficult to find a pairing as good as Marty and Joe.

Said Smith: “I know. I’ve listened to (Nuxhall) a lot, and I like him – but that kind of marriage doesn’t come along that often.”

KINDRED SPIRITS

“Marty and Joe” went down like lemonade on a hot Cincinnati day. They matched up like burgers with tomatoes on back decks, and forever will be linked, even in Joe’s passing.

Brennaman knew there would be no replacing that team, "Marty and Joe," not even when Marty’s son, Thom, joined his dad in the booth starting this season.

“Having Thom here certainly softens (getting only to do a handful of games with Joe during the 2007 season)," Marty said last April.

“The day Joe stepped down, I knew it would never be quite the same again,” Brennaman said. “Given time, hopefully we (Marty and Thom) will have the success that I had with Joe. I will always treasure the time I had with Joe and the love that we developed over the years.”

The Italians have a word for such kindred spirits: simpatico.

Author Smith, a student of language, linked Joe with Marty with that word.

“They had that simpatico,” he said. “You can’t invent it. Either it exists, or it doesn’t.”

And, yes, Marty and Joe clicked right from the beginning.

“The first time that Joe and I ever met,” Brennaman said, “the first thing out of my mouth within five minutes of meeting him was, ‘I got your baseball card!'”

HUMOROUS START

The first time they broadcast a Reds “home” game together was at Al Lopez Field in Tampa, Fla., during spring training in 1974. Brennaman was replacing the popular Al Michaels, who had left Cincinnati for the San Francisco Giants’ play-by-play gig, and frequently had been told Brennaman had been saturated by people telling him what big shoes he had to fill, giving him and had a serious case of “Al Michaels on the brain.”

“So, we’re lined up … three in a row: engineer Ken Kimball, me in the middle and Joe on the other side,” Brennaman recalled in the book “Opening Day.”

“Ken cues me up to go on the air, and I say, ‘Good afternoon everyone, welcome to Al Michaels Field in Tampa, Florida.’”

And the reaction?

“As soon as I said it, I knew what I said,” Brennaman recalled. “Al Michaels Field. And that son of a (gun) Joe, he shows me no mercy. He’s rolling. I thought he was going to fall out of his chair. So I go to the obligatory commercial break before we came back to do the lineups, and the first thing out of Joe’s mouth during the break is, ‘I’ll be damned. We haven’t even gotten to the regular season yet and I’ve got material for the banquet circuit next fall!’”

Brennaman was rated by Smith as the 31st greatest baseball broadcaster of all-time. Michaels, by the way, ranked 22nd.

DOWN-HOME STYLE

Smith is critical of most former players who have tried to do play-by-play. But he liked Nuxhall, despite Joe’s literal boosterism in the booth.

“Get up, get up, get outta here!” Nuxhall would say when a Reds player hit a ball that looked as if like it might get over the fence.

“To be really good at play-by-play, you have to use the language well, set the stage, capture the drama and sell the game to the public with your words,” Smith said.

Nuxhall was no Scully, the legendary Dodgers broadcaster, or Hoyt when it came to using the language. But he was good at setting the stage and decent at capturing the drama of a game. Toward the end of his career, Nuxhall lost his edge a bit and it became harder to follow the action through Joe’s description. But Joe was Joe, and no listeners – certainly no longtime listeners – seemed to mind.

STRONG AT THE FINISH

In 2004, when Nuxhall was preparing for the last of 37 straight years of full-time game broadcasts (he had started on Opening Day, 1967; Brennaman came long seven years later), a newspaper reporter wrote that the Ol’ Lefthander would be remembered for who he is, not who he was.

Now it is reversed. Nuxie will remembered for who he was.

Which is quite a guy.

In his final game that year, Marty and Joe were still so good together that when when one got choked up at some memory, the other took over without missing a beat. But there was no escaping the need for a solo at the broadcast’s end, so there was nobody to pick up for Joe when he had to wrap it all up.

“For the last time,” he began, “It’s the Ol’ Lefthander …”

He paused briefly to regroup, and, then, in a shaking voice, said, “ … rounding third and heading for home.’”

Then, of course, Joe did what Joe always did – he rallied.

He finished at his robust best.

“Good afternoon, everyone.”

[macro]

http://www.redshistory.com/Timeline/Images/RedsJoeNuxhallEnquirer.jpg

http://www.joenuxhallchildrenscenter.org/images/joe.jpg

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/c/ca/200px-Joe_nuxhall_statue_2004.jpg

[lollipopcurve]

A giant. I can barely remember Reds baseball without Joe -- all the way back to the 60s. I wouldn't follow the Reds the way I do if it hadn't been for his enthusiasm in the booth and fondness for the players. The PBP guys got the spotlight, but my ears and heart were tuned to Nuxhall.

He deserves a spot on the sunlit diamond in the sky.

[sonny]

Welcome home Joe. Thanks for everything.

[redsmetz]

A photo from the last game at Riverfront appropriate for today.

http://www.cincinnati.com/reds/2002final/photos/therose_zoom.jpg

[redsmetz]

So can any of you who know how to find those old newspaper clippings find a write up of Nuxhall's debut on 6/10/44? I don't have a clue how to do it.

[traderumor]

Man, I knew yesterday when I heard pneumonia....:(:(:(

My favorite memory is still the Star of the Game after Tony Perez hit a game winning homer in the first game of a DHer to beat the Giants, 14-13. Tony says "I heet the baw good, Joe!"

And who can forget the call of Joe Oliver's grounder just inside the line that scored Billy Bates from 3rd, hearing Joe give the "And this one belongs to the Reds..." in his own way.

What a great announcer and by all accounts a great man. Goodbye Joe. :):)

[MartyFan]

Prayers for Joe's family.

Thanks for sharing him with Reds fans all these years.

[redsfan30]

Words can't describe how sad I am this morning.

[redsmetz]

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pics/joe_nuxhall_autograph.jpghttp://www.vintagecardtraders.com/virtual/57topps/57topps-103.jpghttp://www.vintagecardtraders.com/virtual/60topps/60topps-282.jpg

[BoydsOfSummer]

That breaks my heart. So long Joe. Thanks for being you.

[CrackerJack]

R.I.P. Joe. Thought he'd live forever.

[WebScorpion]

For me, Joe was the emotion of the game. Marty did a better job of describing what was going on at the moment, but Joe was the emotional barometer. Grandpa and I couldn't help but get alternately excited or upset right along with him. Grandpa used to talk to Joe like he could hear him too...and the weirdest part was that most times Joe would say something that almost seemed like he did hear. His voice will always remind me of those summer days with Grandpa that I thought would last forever...and the seasons where even when the Reds were down 2 runs in the bottom of the ninth, you didn't dare give up...because they always found a way to come back. It was almost as if Grandpa, Joe, and I willed them to do it.

Thanks for the memories, Joe! Say Hi to Grandpa for me, will ya? :beerme:

[westofyou]

So long Joe.

http://www.baseballminutia.com/images/nux_st.jpg

[TRF]

My grandfather got me hooked on the Reds around 1980. After some problems in my family I ended up moving in with him in '82. My grandparents were diehard fans, but my grandfather was who really got me listening to the game. He hated watching it on television. We'd sit on his patio in Winton Place, drink Sprite and rail against the opposing team. Especially if it was the Dodgers. My grandfather reminded me of Joe, and when he passed away, Joe reminded me of my grandfather. I don't have much family left, and this is one more link to my home that is gone. As much as I harp on Marty for how he does his job, he's all that I have left to remind me of home, to remind me of sweltering summer days on my grandfathers patio drinking sprite.

g'bye Joe.

[Joseph]

Thank you for everything Joe. Thank you a million times for the memories of baseball. Thank you for the stories of life. Thank you for making me fall in love with the Cincinnati Reds. I never met you, but you were family Joe, thank you, thank you, thank you.

[919191]

Check out Joe in this video on YouTube. A fun moment at Oktoberfest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Owx4t0pJQ

[mbgrayson]

The sound of summer, and the sound of my youth, has passed....rest in peace and may God be with his family.

[HotCorner]

RIP Nuxie.

I moved to the Cincinnati area in 1990 so I was spoiled to experience the Reds World Series win. However truth be told they were not my favorite team - that distinction belonged to the Toronto Blue Jays.

At first I did not like Joe as an announcer. He came across as old and a bit boring. Yet over the years my heart changed about him and the Reds. His love for the Reds always showed because it was natural. He is Mr. Red.

I will cherish that I got to listen to him for as long as I did. Nuxie was one of a kind.

[registerthis]

Very, very sad news indeed. RIP Joe.

You know, it's strange, but I had a thought yesterday afternoon...while reading through the thread about voting for Joe's HoF induction, and about how he had been re-admitted to the hospital, the thought struck me: this is one of those things where you're going to wake up one morning and hear that he's gone. Pneumonia, cancer, etc. = not good things.

I just didn't imagine it would happen this quickly. :(

[Roy Tucker]

RIP Joe and condolences to his family. I feel like a favorite uncle has died.

A good man, father, husband, solid midwest roots, friend to all Reds fans over the airwaves for longer than I can remember, and I for one, will sorely miss him.

Reds fans need to hug their loved ones a little tighter today.

[RichRed]

My brother and I grew up in Va. Beach straining through the static to hear the Reds games on WLW. On those clear nights when Joe and Marty sounded like they were broadcasting the game right next door, it was magical.

Thanks for the memories, Joe. The kid in me will never forget.

[TeamMorris]

Very sad news indeed:( .

I smacked my snooze alarm this morning and turned on the TV. His passing was the first thing I heard. Woke me up real quick. VERY sad about it! I have to say though, he had an absolutely amazing life and was an amazing man. He will never be forgotten!

Rest in peace Joe!

[redsmetz]

I've been a bit philosophical this week. Earlier in the week, I got an email that an old friend passed away at the end of October - someone I'd known many years ago, but hadn't seen in some time. He was just a few years old than me and my wife and I knew him and his family at our church. So I'd been pondering my own mortality a bit anyway. Both my wife and I are acutely aware of the finite nature of life - we both still have all of our parents; hers are 85, mine are Nuxie's age - 79. We understand completely how blessed we are.

Then yesteray, I get a magazine called Sojourners, and the man I consider my own spiritual father, a priest I met while in high school, had an article in there about aging titled "Forever Young". Now this morning I wake up to hear of Joe passing away. I went back and looked at the article on line and liked the closing where my friend wrote


Then there is nothing to regret, reject, fear, or deny. All is re-membered, re-gathered, and re-loved. Such elders are already home and forever young. So strange, however, that you have to be old to be young.

In many ways, Joe was the "elder" of the Reds, not in some religious sense, but in the sense of a common thread back through numerous generations. We're seeing a collective mourning. Someone described it well, a favorite uncle or such.

[Reds Fanatic]

This is a note from Joe's family that was part of John Fay's article:


From his family:

“On behalf of the entire Nuxhall family we wish to express our deepest gratitude for the tremendous outpouring of prayers, well wishes, cards and messages during this very difficult time. Dad felt that he truly had three extended families during his career....The great City of Hamilton, Ohio where he grew up.....Fairfield, Ohio where he raised his children and Cincinnati, Ohio where he was able to play and broadcast the great game of baseball with the Cincinnati Reds. We will be eternally grateful to the Cincinnati Reds organization and the fans who provided us with experiences and memories of a lifetime. Dad truly loved you all. Respectfully, Kim Nuxhall

[redsfan30]

:cry:

[Gallen5862]

:( RIP Joe! My prayers and thoughts go to his family and friends.

[redsmetz]

I've chatted with my two younger kids. My son has his "Beat Michigan" sweatshirt on, but will be wearing his Reds cap today and his away message on IM says "RIP Nuxie". My daughter has to work in her Financial Aid office, but said she'd wear red socks in Nux's honor. I brought 'em up right.

[westofyou]

Sad day for Reds fans, Joe was the counter point to Marty, he was a former player who found it distasteful to rip other players from the booth, from his era and the ones he watched from up high. He forever was reminding us that the game was not easy, that it was played by humans and that they too had faults. He wasn't a polished stone, but he was a gem.

[redsfan30]

I've chatted with my two younger kids. My son has his "Beat Michigan" sweatshirt on, but will be wearing his Reds cap today and his away message on IM says "RIP Nuxie". My daughter has to work in her Financial Aid office, but said she'd wear red socks in Nux's honor. I brought 'em up right.

I will be doing the same thing today. I had planned on wearing Ohio State stuff today, but it will be replaced by a Reds' shirt and hat in a silent tribute to Joe.

[Caseyfan21]

Man, this is eating me up, so sad because Nuxie was a voice of my childhood.

I'll never forget this Nuxhall story. Back in one of the final years at Riverfront, my friend and I went to a game with his dad. We stayed after the game to try and get a few autographs (and let traffic clear out). Well, we were getting a ton of autographs and having a great time. All of a sudden, we hear a big car horn toot behind us. Joe Nuxhall was sitting there honking his horn in his big old conversion van. So we went running over, and Joe goes "I saw you guys getting autographs here so I thought I'd stop by because I don't want to sit in all this d**n traffic!"

So we all got autographs and he even stuck around and talked with us. My friend's dad was like a kid in a candy shop, Joe was one of his heroes growing up. But Joe was just a great guy seeing a group of fans and driving over to offer to sign an autograph and meet them.

I'll also always remember when I was younger, I decided to send out letters to players asking for autographs. I usually had pretty good success but I always had to wait a long while to get them back. Well, I wrote Joe a letter with 2 baseball cards and sent it out on a Monday. On Friday I got my self addressed stamped envelope back with autographs included. He not only autographed my two cards but he included 2 others autographed as well as a postcard of himself (probably from back in his playing days - very old in black and white). On the back of the post card, he wrote "Thank you for the nice letter."

Man, what a guy....

[Danny Serafini]

I missed Nuxhall's peak, it was only in the later years that I got to hear him, but he still was a joy to listen to. It became a bit of a special occasion when he did a series recently, I'd make sure I got to listen to a game no matter what. I always loved hearing him in the background rooting on a home run ball during one of Marty's innings, that will probably stick with me the most.

For my birthday this year a friend of mine got me a Reds t-shirt that he had taken and had Nuxhall's name and number put on the back. He figured Joe summed up Reds baseball better than anyone. I think I'll wear that when I go out tonight.

[Matt700wlw]

A piece of my childhood is now gone.



It's amazing...I've lost grandparents before....but I can't stop crying with the loss of Joe.

Whatever that means, it's a sad day....but now he's home....he's healthy...and dammit...he's throwing out the first pitch on opening day!!!

Nobody was Reds baseball more than Joe Nuxhall.......and nobody will ever be more loved...


Thanks, Lefty!!!

[Joseph]

Matty, have they contacted Marty yet? I heard Thom say he was on a cruise somewhere and they didn't know if he knew yet. Its not the kind of news you want to come home to thats for sure.

[Matt700wlw]

As far as I know, he's unavailable....based on location.


I think Joe will understand, I'm sure he's on the cruise as well :)

[NJReds]

Very sad news indeed. I didn't get to hear his broadcasts, but I understand his legacy as a member of the Reds organization.

RIP.

[Spitball]

I remember getting a Joe Nuxhall card in one of the first packages of baseball cards I ever had purchased for me in the late 1950's. My dad told me his story about him being the youngest player ever. Then, I remember my dad telling me sometime later that Nuxhall was going to Kansas City for (he believed) cash. I remember thinking, "Who's Cash and what position does he play?"

Later, I remember the spring training of 1967 and Gary Nolan was an 18 year old having a great spring. I was really rooting for him because he was only a few years older than me. I didn't realize that when he made the team it essentially spelled the end of Joe's pitching career. But, God closes one door and opens another because Joe stepped into the broadcast booth and the rest is history.

He will be missed, but he is going to a better place. My pastor honestly tells me he is confident there is baseball in Heaven. That's cool.

[Heath]

As far as I know, he's unavailable....based on location.


I think Joe will understand, I'm sure he's on the cruise as well :)

You can find people on a cruise, you just have to do some homework.

And, boy I hate this thought, but if Marty gets email on the boat, which is available, he'll know.

[pedro]

RIP Joe, you'll be missed.

[TeamBoone]

Marty is on the Reds cruise. Don't know if he's been notified yet though they did allude to it on the local news after the press conference. They also said many tokens of love have been laid at the feet of Joe's statue at the GAB.... one being a baseball on which is written "Rounding third and heading for heaven". So touching. Tonight, the ballpark will be dark with only two illuminations... his famous words on the outside of the building and a spotlight warming his statue.

This is such a sad day. I've read everyone's comments and sit here numbed by the remembrances. Such an awesome tribute you guys. When all is said and done, someone should print this thread and send it to Joe's family.

What a great man!

[Caseyfan21]

Marty was just on the news on 700 WLW with a quick quote from the cruise. He said something to the effect of "He was my friend, and now he's gone." He was near tears, never hear that much emotion out of Marty.

[Caseyfan21]

And this slide show is unbelievable. A bunch of pictures of Joe from throughout his life along with his greatest calls....

http://opera.cincinnati.com/Netcasts/flashplayer.asp?GUID=http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20071116/VIDEO02/71116005/

If you don't get a little misty eyed watching that you probably aren't human.

[Mario-Rijo]

So many here echo my sentiments as Joe was an extension of some of the people we loved the most. The tears I shed today are for Nuxie, a wonderful human being.

I will no longer have back that moment on the patio with my Grandfather, Marty & Joe. And since my Grandfather has been gone for many years I will no longer be able to close my eyes, listen to Marty & Joe and drift away. But he will live on with many of us forever, as a loved one.

May his many loves be blessed as he was.

[Reds Fanatic]

This was mentioned in another thread but I will post it again here I can't think of a better tribute that all of us fans can pay to Joe than to try to get him elected to the hall of fame. If you go to this link and then click on launch frick award ballot and vote for Joe.

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071030&content_id=2288249&vkey=news_cin&fext=.jsp&c_id=cin

[redsmetz]

He wasn't a polished stone, but he was a gem.

Perfectly said.

[TeamBoone]

If anyone has the Play Ball CD by Blessid Union of Soul that came out when the GAB opened.... today, especially, you must listen to the song Me, Marty, Joe, Ted and Louise.

[redsmetz]

Well, I wrote Joe a letter with 2 baseball cards and sent it out on a Monday. On Friday I got my self addressed stamped envelope back with autographs included. He not only autographed my two cards but he included 2 others autographed as well as a postcard of himself (probably from back in his playing days - very old in black and white). On the back of the post card, he wrote "Thank you for the nice letter."

Man, what a guy....

That might well be one of the Kahn's series they did back in the day; a little bigger than a postcard, but they were black and white and I don't think there was anything printed on the back.

[nate]

And this slide show is unbelievable. A bunch of pictures of Joe from throughout his life along with his greatest calls....

http://opera.cincinnati.com/Netcasts/flashplayer.asp?GUID=http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20071116/VIDEO02/71116005/

If you don't get a little misty eyed watching that you probably aren't human.

That's really a nice tribute, thanks.

RIP. Joe.

[MrCinatit]

Marty was just on the news on 700 WLW with a quick quote from the cruise. He said something to the effect of "He was my friend, and now he's gone." He was near tears, never hear that much emotion out of Marty.

Really, I can hardly imagine what he is going through. Those two have been together for close to 40 years, much longer than most marriages last.

Yahoo called him a Reds' icon in their headline - which is quite apt. Save one very dark 18 month period in the early '60s, the man has served faithfully for the ball club almost non-stop - 63 years of service for the Reds - which is simply amazing.

I'll always remember those nights, listening to Marty and Joe talk about their ball club, their tomato plants and almost anything else under the sun, and even then, you knew you were listening to something special.
Here was a man who seems to have been loved by everyone in the game, and it didn't matter if they were a Reds uniform or not. I know Nolan Ryan attributed a lot of his success to Nuxy because, during a chance meeting during the '81 strike, a conversation helped Ryan transform from a thrower into a pitcher...all because of a short conversation with Joe.
And I only remember hearing him a couple of times become truly irate with another person - it was during those rare instances where a player (almost every time, if I recall correctly) did not show up for the Star of the Game segment after the final out was made.
But, in the end, Joe would forgive and become is usual jovial self again, talking with ease to whoever else would show up for the segment. And, I would listen to that segment every night so I could hear those special words:

This is the Old Left Hander...


Well. You know the rest.

[CougarQuest]

I woke up from an extremely long week of work and stumbled down the stairs. I make it to the computer chair and the first thing I see is Joe Nuxhall has passed away. I've never had a personal converstation with the man. I've just listened to him every summer. Yet I've got a lump in my throat.

I'm sure my grandma will be one of many to greet you at the pearly gates.

It's a crying shame you didn't get into the HOF before you left Joe.

[redsmetz]

Tonight, the ballpark will be dark with only two illuminations... his famous words on the outside of the building and a spotlight warming his statue.

Okay, that got me all choked up.

[Reds Fanatic]

This is a nice article about Joe from today's Enquirer:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071116/SPT04/311160028


To friends and neighbors, he was just a regular Joe -- breakfasting at the Bob Evans counter, chatting with everyone he saw, and plowing neighbors’ driveways after a snow.

But to schools and other nonprofit agencies in his native Butler County, Joe Nuxhall will be remembered as an extraordinary heavy hitter. The Ol’ Lefthander pitched in to promote elderly services tax levies and school bond issues; raised funds for troubled kids and character education; and handed out more than $450,000 in scholarships to about 400 high school seniors since 1989.

“I can’t tell you how many lives he touched,” said Sally Braun, Fairfield Community Foundation president.


But you couldn’t tell that from his everyday life. Nuxhall, born in Hamilton, lived for more than 50 years in the same modest Fairfield home where he and his wife, Donzetta, raised two sons, Phil and Kim.

If he wasn’t playing golf – or hanging out with buddies at the Joe Nuxhall Golf Center driving range managed by Kim near Hamilton’s Joyce Park – Nux loved to cut grass on his John Deere riding mower or tend to his dwarf snapdragons and other flowers.

In the winter, he’d hop on the John Deere and plow his driveway – and a few of his neighbors’ too – recalls Dr. Kim Kupper, a West Chester Township dentist and his Fairfield neighbor since 1980. Kupper called him “a great neighbor” and “not pretentious at all.”

Nuxhall began nearly every day the same way – with a 7 a.m. breakfast at the Fairfield Bob Evans Restaurant counter with his son and three friends. Waitresses would have a hot cup of coffee waiting when they saw him drive his Ford van – or 1989 Lincoln Continental – into the parking lot.

Dan Hare of Fairfield Township, one of the Bob Evans’ “counter culture” regulars, said Nuxhall didn’t mind the frequent interruptions from fans.

In a recent interview, Hare explained that Nuxhall “always makes time to talk to everybody. Some celebrities, they just want to eat their meal and move on. But Joe will talk to everybody. I think that’s a remarkable trait,” Hare is head of the Butler County Educational Service Center.

Hare, attorney Dale Lierman, remodeling company owner Mark Lewis, Kim and Joe frequently talked at Bob Evans about details for the Joe Nuxhall Character Education Fund, founded in 2003 to promote respect and caring in classrooms throughout the Midwest.

Cathy Milligan, a Fairfield educator since 1973, said Nuxhall had “a concern about what makes children successful in life, not just for 13 years in school. He wanted them to have a solid foundation that will carry students through the rest of their life -- to be good citizens, good employees, good parents,” said Milligan, Fairfield interim school superintendent.

Nuxhall also vigorously supported Butler County elderly services. He appeared several times on campaign literature for the countywide tax levy with his mother, Naomi Purdy, who died last summer at age 97.

Among the many lessons Nuxhall learned from his mother growing up in Hamilton was the importance of giving back to the community. “She was always participating in things at her church. She was always ready to help out,” he once told The Enquirer.

Nuxhall never just lent his name to a project or campaign. He learned the issues and talked about them at rallies, said Steve Schnabl, Hamilton Senior Citizens Inc. executive director.

“He just didn’t tell baseball stories. He wanted what he put his name on to succeed. That’s why it made so much sense to me that Kim started a character education fund,” Schnabl said.

Last spring, after doctors found four malignant tumors in Nuxhall’s leg, the character fund launched the ambitious $7.8-million Joe Nuxhall Hope Project to help underprivileged, abused or neglected children.

In addition to funding character education and scholarships, the campaign (www.joehope.org) is raising money for:

• a Reds Rookie Success League to teach baseball and character lessons to underprivileged Butler County kids at Fairfield’s Waterworks Park;
• a $2.4-million for a gym, classrooms and kitchen at Fairfield’s One Way Farm nonprofit home for abused and abandoned kids;
• and a $500,000 rubberized baseball field in Hamilton’s Joyce Park for wheelchair-bound children.

Last April's kickoff at Jungle Jim’s Oscar Event Center was a rare public look at Nuxhall’s charitable efforts. Marty Brennaman, Nuxhall’s radio partner for 31 seasons (1974-2004), said few outside Butler County knew about his commitment to kids because he didn’t talk about it.

Nuxhall taught him “a helluva lot about humility,” Brennaman said in an interview before the event. “He legitimately would not care if anybody ever knew about it, because he derives enough satisfaction by himself, in doing what he does.”
Before the Hope Project dinner, Nuxhall explained: “It’s for the kids. It’s not about me. I don’t like to blow my own horn. It’s not my nature.”

In a 2005 WCET-TV interview, Nuxhall said: “I just want people to think of me as one of the regular guys.”

After his cancer came back in September, Fairfield and Hamilton city leaders jointly announced that the road on the cities’ border to Joyce Park – with acres of baseball, football and soccer fields – would be renamed “Joe Nuxhall Way.”

Fairfield also announced plans for a life-size statue of Nuxhall helping two children by artist Tom Tsuchiya, who did the Nuxhall sculpture outside Great American Ball Park. The bronze artwork will be placed next summer at Waterworks Park, near a new concession stand and shelter to be called Joe Nuxhall Pavilion. It’s a fitting tribute to man who gave so much to kids, Braun said.

“He never said ‘No’ to anyone,” Braun said. “The legacy he leaves is one of giving, and supporting the children of Butler County. He’s made more of an impression from being a human being, than from as a ballplayer.”

[WVRedsFan]

Got to the board late today as I sometimes do in the off-season. My whole life revolved around Waite Hoyt, Gene Kelly, Claude Sullivan, Marty, but mostly Joe. I'm devastated.

My first conscious knowledge of Joe was 1962 (I think) and he came back from Kansas City to the Reds and immediately pitched lights out that year. He became a favorite player. When he retired, i can still remember the picture in the local paper (they used to carry the Reds news on the front of the sports page--they no longer do that--he was crying, but was to be the broadcaster. I can't get the image out of my mind that the guy loved the Reds and baseball so much it brought him to tears. Wow.

I'll never forget the home run calls where Marty was describing the HR and Joe was yelling, "Get up, get up, get out." So many things.

RIP, Joe, you've earned your rest.

P.S. Mods, please remove that line under my avatar that says "rounding third and heading for home." That belongs to Joe, not me.

[redsfan4445]

A piece of my childhood is now gone.



It's amazing...I've lost grandparents before....but I can't stop crying with the loss of Joe.

Whatever that means, it's a sad day....but now he's home....he's healthy...and dammit...he's throwing out the first pitch on opening day!!!

Nobody was Reds baseball more than Joe Nuxhall.......and nobody will ever be more loved...


Thanks, Lefty!!!

I know what you mean Matt!! I have been fighting tears all day at work. I am lucky to listen to the radio and hearing Rob Butcher and Seg break down it was hard not to have tears!!

Matt anyway you can float the idea to the Reds to retire #41 in honor of Joe this coming season??

thanks and Im gonna miss Joe so much!:(

[37red]

In some strange way, it's fitting that a real icon like Joe would pass away just as someone as deplorable as Bonds would finally be nailed for more less stealing one of the biggest treasures in baseball.

[GullyFoyle]

Rest in peace Joe, thanks for the memories...

[CougarQuest]

If baseball had a lifetime achievement award, it should be given to Joe Nuxhall then named for him. (A quote from BCubb from his always great thread)

A groundswell should be pushing for this immediately. Both aspects of it.

[OldXOhio]

I'm sitting here in the Flying J in Toledo just trying to digest this. I woke up and heard something on Baseball This Morning and then turned over to WLW. I figured the fitting thing would be to wear my Reds shirt today. I'm here in a truck stop with tears in my eyes, maybe not the manly image you would expect to see in such a place, but I don't really care.



Joe was never one to hide his emotions, particularly in recent years. I'd say it's rather telling that Reds fans everywhere, including the team's brass, have tears in their eyes today.

My memories of Joe will always liken back to listening to Reds games on the radio while sitting in the old yellow seats of Riverfront Stadium with my grandfather. Even when at the game, it just was the thing to do to listen to Marty and Joe.

RIP Joe, you will be missed.

[vaticanplum]

Haven't read through the thread yet, but wanted to say that I heard this on the radio AS I WAS DRIVING PAST the ballpark this morning. Very weird.

I want to put flowers at his statue at the ballpark this afternoon. Is that a nice gesture or does it cross the line into Crazyfan?

[redsmetz]

Haven't read through the thread yet, but wanted to say that I heard this on the radio AS I WAS DRIVING PAST the ballpark this morning. Very weird.

I want to put flowers at his statue at the ballpark this afternoon. Is that a nice gesture or does it cross the line into Crazyfan?

I suspect others have beat you to the punch and it's a nice gesture. I think someone mentioned folks were already leaving things there, including a ball inscribed with "Rounding Third & Heading for Home."

[reds44]

Awful news.

RIP Joe

[Joseph]

I suspect others have beat you to the punch and it's a nice gesture. I think someone mentioned folks were already leaving things there, including a ball inscribed with "Rounding Third & Heading for Home."

It was 'Rounding third and heading for heaven'

or so I heard, could be lore already seeping in though.

VP, its a perfect gesture and tribute to a great human being.

[Redny]

Thanks Joe for many, many years of helping me enjoy the Reds from miles away. RIP.

[GullyFoyle]

http://gallery.mac.com/richardpratt/100008/griff_nux_wb/web.jpg

Always makes me smile.....

[RedFanAlways1966]

I am so sad. Joe was a part of my life. RIP Joe! :(

[gonelong]

Wow. The last couple of years, when Joe did the game, I took a radio and a few beers to the backyard and listened to the game instead of sitting in front of the TV. I tried to explain to my wife why, but she really didn't get it.

I get it, I did the same thing a few times this summer.

Joe's voice would take me back to the days of my childhood when I had nothing but time to listen to the game. His voice could make me feel the warmth of sunshine, smell the fragrance of the grass, and see the dust flying on a play at the plate.

Joe seemed to always enjoy the game regardless of the outcome, and if the home team lost today, he just knew we'd get 'em tomorrow.

As if that wasn't enough by itself, he was a obviously a good friend, a good neighbor, a good husband, a good father, and a solid citizen.

RIP Joe.

GL

[TeamCasey]

Oh man ..... I shouldn't have watched that netcast at work. *big sniffles*

[Caseyfan21]

Sean Casey on with Willy and Seg right now on 700 WLW.

[WVRedsFan]

Haven't read through the thread yet, but wanted to say that I heard this on the radio AS I WAS DRIVING PAST the ballpark this morning. Very weird.

I want to put flowers at his statue at the ballpark this afternoon. Is that a nice gesture or does it cross the line into Crazyfan?

Do it!

[vaticanplum]

Oh man ..... I shouldn't have watched that netcast at work. *big sniffles*

Ditto. Good grief. Thanks for the link.

Does anyone know if an audio clip of the last few minutes of his last signoff is available? They played it on the radio this morning and it is really something.

[dabvu2498]

Ditto. Good grief. Thanks for the link.

Does anyone know if an audio clip of the last few minutes of his last signoff is available? They played it on the radio this morning and it is really something.

Reds website has it. http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/cin/fan_forum/nuxhall_tribute.jsp

[KittyDuran]

Oh man ..... I shouldn't have watched that netcast at work. *big sniffles*I purposely avoided most of the news because I'd be crying all day... and just reading the posts on this thread I'm welling up. I don't know if Butler County, or the cities of Hamilton and Fairfield have flags - but they should be flying half mast...
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-oh-ha.gif

As a native Hamiltonian from the west side, this is truly a sad day.


:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:

[Heath]

Ditto. Good grief. Thanks for the link.

Does anyone know if an audio clip of the last few minutes of his last signoff is available? They played it on the radio this morning and it is really something.

Enquirer had some media sounds of Joe. Reds.com might do something.

[KronoRed]

Damn :(

RIP Joe, you'll be missed

[Caseyfan21]

Ditto. Good grief. Thanks for the link.

Does anyone know if an audio clip of the last few minutes of his last signoff is available? They played it on the radio this morning and it is really something.

I'd like to get the clip of the entire "Star of the Game" conversation from his very last time in 2004. He had Marty as the star and they just talked about all the memories. And then that sign off.....man, that was something I'm proud to have had the opportunity to listen to.

And I'd definitely head over to the park today/tonight. Seems like many are over there. On the noon news, 700 had a live report from the ballpark.

And Austin Kearns is on with Willy now.

700 is really doing an awesome job today with the guests and coverage. That interview they played between Joe and Bob Trumpy during the 11 AM hour was great.

[Caseyfan21]

I purposely avoided most of the news because I'd be crying all day... and just reading the posts on this thread I'm welling up. I don't know if Butler County, or the cities of Hamilton and Fairfield have flags - but they should be flying half mast...

As a native Hamiltonian from the west side, this is truly a sad day.


:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:


Man, I sure hope they do something great for his funeral. I really hope they have some sort of service/ceremony down at the stadium. I'd definitely drive down from Columbus for it.

[Chip R]

Man, I sure hope they do something great for his funeral. I really hope they have some sort of service/ceremony down at the stadium. I'd definitely drive down from Columbus for it.


I was kind of thinking the same thing. Maybe have him lie in state at the entrance to GAB or the HOF & Museum.

[M2]

I wish I had gotten to see him play. Wasn't an option as he retired before I was born, but I get the feeling he'd have been a fun pitcher to watch, someone who brought intelligence and determination to the mound.

[westofyou]

I wish I had gotten to see him play. Wasn't an option as he retired before I was born, but I get the feeling he'd have been a fun pitcher to watch, someone who brought intelligence and determination to the mound.

Joe is number nine in Reds team history in wins, mostly with bad clubs too, strong lefty with a steady fastball and slider approach.

[KittyDuran]

Joe is number nine in Reds team history in wins, mostly with bad clubs too, strong lefty with a steady fastball and slider approach.IIRC he's first with number of HRs by a Reds pitcher...and I believe he rewarded the Reds pitcher with the most hits with dinner after the season was over. "You swing the bat, you're dangerous."

[Caseyfan21]

From when Joe retired in 2004:


An open letter from Marty to Joe

Dear Joe:

Thirty-one years. Where has it all gone? Here today, gone tomorrow. It's over in the blink of an eye. But, boy, what memories and times we've had together.

How about the time in San Francisco, when our engineer, Mike Marquard, popped the rather exclusive video up on the TV monitor and it locked you up while you did the play-by-play?

Or the time in Montreal when you said on the air I was reading a book. I really wasn't, but I saw my career flash before my eyes.

Or when Randy "Macho Man" Savage came to our booth for the afternoon game at Riverfront Stadium, and the stir that that created.

Or the game in Montreal at old Jarry Park when a torrential downpour caused our little radio booth to flood, requiring our exit from the waves immediately.

Or the night Jonathan Winters showed up at our radio booth at Riverfront and regaled us and our listeners with his portrayal of retired pitcher Wimp Willis and his used chicken farm that went bankrupt.

I could go on and on, but there's neither time nor space. They're just examples of the great ride we've had together.

Of all the places I could have ended up as a major-league baseball broadcaster, and all the people I could have teamed with, well, I've been blessed. Every young announcer should have someone like you to show them the way and display the patience and guidance you've extended to me over all these years.

Thanks for all you've done. I could never repay you for what you've meant to me professionally and what you've meant to me personally. Remember, there's still a lot of golf to be played and a lot of laughs to be had. Hopefully, some of both will be with me.

Your friend,

Marty

[redsmetz]

From the Hamilton Journal News


Reds broadcaster and player Joe Nuxhall dead at 79
Staff Report

Friday, November 16, 2007

FAIRFIELD — Butler County residents have spent most of the morning today remembering their personal experiences of Joe Nuxhall, who passed away late last night at Mercy Hospital in Fairfield.

Suzy, of Middletown, who declined to give her last name, had been homeless for two years when her path crossed the Ol' Lefthander's.

She had been staying at Chosen, a shelter in Hamilton, in 2004 when Nuxhall — in one of his many volunteering roles — stopped by to drop off donated clothes. He stayed and helped the kitchen staff serve food to those who were staying at the shelter that night.

"Your mashed potatoes just tasted better when he was the one serving them to you," Suzy said. "He was like a grandfather to people there. You would have never known he was famous."

Nuxhall was prounounced dead at Mercy Fairfield Hospital at 10:55 p.m. Thursday.

The 79-year-old had been in the hospital since Monday for treatment of pneumonia, a low pulse rate and low white blood count. He was also undergoing treatment for his fourth bout with Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Nuxhall was scheduled to undergo surgery for a pacemaker today.

Nuxhall, known popularly as "The Ol' Left-hander" and "Hamilton Joe," was born in Hamilton on July 30, 1928, graduated from Hamilton High, and later he and his wife, Donzetta, resided for more than 45 years in Fairfield.

Nuxhall made an immediate impact in American sports when he became the youngest player in Major League Baseball history to appear in a game when he pitched for the Reds at the age of 15 years, 10 months and 11 days on June 14, 1944, in St. Louis against the Cardinals.

Although he retired the first two batters he faced in the ninth inning, it was not a successful debut for Nuxhall, who then allowed five walks and two hits before being pulled by Reds manager Bill McKechnie in what was an 18-0 loss.

Many years later, Nuxhall remembered that it wasn't such big news event at first. "The writers had left," Nuxhall said. "They had deadlines to meet. The photographers were gone. Hell, I didn't even get a picture."

It was to be another seven years before Nuxhall returned to the big leagues, where he became one of the more successful, and ultimately beloved, members of the Reds organization, first as an All-Star pitcher and later as a broadcaster.

Nuxhall was a multi-sports star for the Hamilton Big Blue and during baseball season he toiled in the minor leagues until he got another chance with the Reds 1952, and this time he was in for the long haul.

He pitched in a total of 16 seasons, including 15 with the Reds. In 526 games, he compiled a 135-117 record with a 3.90 earned run average. In 2,302.2 innings, he recorded 1,372 strikeouts.

Nuxhall's best year was 1955, when he won a career-high 17 games, led the National League with five shutouts and pitched 3.1 scoreless innings in the All-Star Game.

Nuxhall also was considered one of the better hitting pitchers in the majors. He finished his career with 15 home runs.

He was traded to the Kansas City Athletics prior to the 1961 season for pitchers John Tsitouris and John Briggs. Unfortunately for Nuxhall, 1961 was the only season during his pitching career that the Reds played in the World Series (where they lost in five games to the New York Yankees of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle).

Meanwhile, Nuxhall played one season with Kansas City and was released. Then he pitched part of another season with the Los Angeles Angels and was released. Finally, he returned to the Reds in the middle of the 1962 season when they purchased his contract from San Diego of the Pacific Coast League.

Nuxhall's third stint with the Reds also was a success. He compiled a 15-8 record in 1963, and in 1965 he went 11-4 and pitched a one-hit shutout at the Houston Astrodome, losing his no-hit bid in the eighth inning on a single by the Astros' Bob Lillis.

Nuxhall announced his retirement as an active player prior to the 1967 season and spent the next 38 years as a full-time color commentator in the Reds radio booth, where he won thousands of loyal fans with his calm storytelling and his emotional home run calls.

Nuxhall spent 31 of those seasons with Marty Brennaman, who became one of the more well-known broadcast teams in baseball. They also made many memorable TV commercials.

In his later years, Nuxhall was deeply involved with the Joe Nuxhall Scholarship Fund, which awarded scholarships to student-athletes of every high school in Butler County, and with the Joe Nuxhall Character Education Fund, which was started in 2003 by his son, Kim Nuxhall, to underwrite character development programs and projects for children.

In 2004 Nuxhall announced his semi-retirement, though he continued to broadcast games on a limited basis. On Sept. 19 of that year, he was honored at Great American Ball Park on Joe Nuxhall Night, where he was greeted with ovations from the 40,000 fans and tributes from many former teammates and Reds greats.

A statue of Nuxhall in his pitching pose stands near the entrance to GABP and a display of his famous radio phrase, "... Rounding third and heading for home," lights the outside of the park.

Nuxhall was named to the Reds Hall of Fame in 1968 and became a charter member of the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame in 1982.

[RedlegJake]

A sad, sad day for me. I watched Nuxhall pitch in 1962 and again in '65. He was a plugger - not a great pitcher but a reliable left-handed veteran who knew how to battle. When he retired in 1967 and went into the booth it was a natural thing - he was always really popular with Reds fans. I was 13 then and as I grew up I always preferred listening to the radio. Da would turn on TV when the Reds were on (by then we had moved away from Cincy) but turn the volume off and listen to Joe and Al, or Joe and Marty when we could get the signal. Joe always reminds me of a summer rain for that reason - we could get the signal pretty clearly whenever the weather was wet for some reason. There are a lot of people wanting you to say hi to folks "over there" Joe, but you always were one to talk to everybody so say hi to Da for me, will ya? Love ya Joe. Goodbye.

[LoganBuck]

I listened to the Reds press conference at 10am, and while I was listening to that, memories of sitting with my departed Grandparents on summer nights listening baseball, and drinking lemonade came back to me. I actually started to cry. Joe was part of the fabric of growing up in Ohio.

Strangely he dies almost a year to the day that Bo Schembechler died, another thread in the fabric of growing up in Ohio.

[cumberlandreds]

I've been reading through all of these remembrances and they are just great. It shows what a great man Joe was. Not one single bad or remotely bad thing has been said by any poster,newspaper or radio person. That says a lot about Joe.
One thing I remembered was back in the early days of Marty and Joe they used to each pick a pitcher they thought would have the most hits during the season. They placed some side bet on it but I don't remember exactly what that would be. They had a lot of fun with that and it was fun for the listener to keep up with. One year Joe took Jack Billingham who was a very poor hitter. He worked with him during the season and dag gone made him into a repectable hitter at least for pitcher that is. BTW,IIRC Joe won that year with Billingham. They had to make Don Gullet off limits because he was such a good hitting pitcher. I think they quit doing this after the BRM years because the pitching became such a revolving door.
I just ordered the biography of Joe from Amazon that was written by Greg Hoard. I'm sure it's good and will enjoy it.

[lollipopcurve]

Reds website has it. http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/cin/f...ll_tribute.jsp

Wow. I welled up at the end. Joe was us.

[cumberlandreds]

And this slide show is unbelievable. A bunch of pictures of Joe from throughout his life along with his greatest calls....

http://opera.cincinnati.com/Netcasts/flashplayer.asp?GUID=http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20071116/VIDEO02/71116005/

If you don't get a little misty eyed watching that you probably aren't human.


Thanks for posting that. :thumbup: You are right if you don't get a little misty eyed you aren't human.

[Chip R]

The Reds held a press conference today about Joe's passing.


http://tinyurl.com/26sarg

[westofyou]

http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2007/11/16/the-ol-lefthander/


The Ol’ Lefthander …

When I got to Cincinnati to become a sports columnist — this would have been 1994, a few months before baseball went on strike — Tim Sullivan passed down some advice he had received years before. Sully was the columnist at rival Cincinnati Enquirer then, and also one of the fine people in the business. I was 27 and looking for help.

He said: “When I became a columnist, they told me that the first thing any columnist should do is crap in the hat of the biggest man in town. Prove you’re not afraid of anybody.”

“So, does that mean I’m supposed to rip Pete Rose in my first column?” I asked.

“Not Pete,” he said. He smiled. “The biggest man in this town is Joe Nuxhuall.”

He was right. Not about ripping Joe Nuxhall, of course. That would have been criminal (and suicidal). The man wasn’t just the biggest man in town. He was the Pope. One thing you find out pretty quickly about Cincinnati is that it is really two towns. There’s the West side of Cincinnati and the East side. On the West side — in the grandest generalization sweep I can manage — you in large part have blue collar, Reds-loving, flannel-wearing, truck-driving, flag-waving, double-decker eating, brick and mortar Cincinnati folk. And on the East side — again generalizing beyond reason — you have plenty of white collar, Bengals-loving, suit-wearing, Lexus-driving, Starbucks-drinking mall-walking, upwardly-mobile Cincinnati folk.

It’s never that simple, of course, never that red and blue, the two sides were always more alike than people imagined. But perception is a part of reality, and in Cincinnati it is considered a local fact that there are two places — two countries, even — and that East siders would get lost on the West side of town and vice versa, I remember the brilliant editorial cartoonist Jim Borgman drawing a cartoon where he had a Berlin Type Wall separating the two sides of Cincinnati. That summed things up. There wasn’t much that crossed between the two sides. In fact, only three things come to mind:

1. Skyline Chili.
2. Graeter’s Ice Cream.
3. Joe Nuxhall.

Nuxie had been a Cincinnati icon from the day — June 10, 1944 — when as a 15-year-old, he pitched for the Cincinnati Reds. He had been signed as something of a publicity stunt while the best players were at war. Nuxhall was a hard-throwing high school pitcher whose father Orville was a pretty well known player around town (they actually scouted Orville, that’s how they found young Joe). Joe only made it 2/3 of an inning in his one Major League start, but it still made him the youngest player to play in the Major Leagues. He was then sent to the minor leagues — a major league footnote — and I suspect no one expected to see him in the big leagues again.

Eight years later, at 23, he re-emerged with the Reds. Nuxie pitched 15 seasons in the big leagues, almost all of them with Cincinnati. He won 10 or more games seven times. He had an amazing ability to reinvent himself as a pitcher. He would talk about it, if you asked him. As a kid, he said, he had no idea where the ball was going, but he threw hard. As a middle-aged pitcher, he gave up hits and home runs, but managed to tough it out and win more than his share on guts. He made a couple of All-Star teams. He led the league in shutouts in 1955. “But,” he would say, “I was still learning how to pitch.”

And then, in 1961, after a dismal year in relief, he was traded to Kansas City. Nuxie was soon released. He signed with Baltimore. Released before the 1962 season. He signed with the Los Angeles Angeles. Released again. It all seemed over.

In June of 1962, he came back to Cincinnati. And it was like magic. Everything came together. Nuxhall went 5-0 with a 2.45 ERA the rest of the way. Ol’ Nuxie was back. There’s just something about Cincinnati. In 1963, he had his best season. He went 15-8, had a 2.61 ERA, struck out a career high 169, walked only 39 (he had found his control). He was home. He never left.

Nuxie would have become a Cincinnati icon after his playing career no matter what because he was that kind of man — kind, decent, great story teller, certain of his convictions, a real Cincinnati guy. But in 1967, just after he finished playing, he became a radio voice for the team. He would be an announcer — mostly with Marty Brennaman — for the next 37 years. And he would become even more beloved.

I’ve written here before about how, to me, the hometown baseball announcer on your radio dial is like the weather. He simply is. He becomes part of your life. Herb Score was like that in Cleveland, Jack Buck in St. Louis, Vin Scully in LA, Denny Matthews in Kansas City, Dave Niehaus in Seattle, John Sterling in New York and so on. (I use Sterling here not because I think of him as a legend but I think of him as inescapable — as Mark points out the true New York broadcast legends are Bob Murphy and Phil Rizutto).

Nuxie was even more than that in Cincinnati. Together with Marty, they did not just call Reds games. They defined Cincinnati. There was Marty telling you the umpire was off that night or that someone did not run out a ground ball. There was Nuxie telling everyone that “If you swing the bat, you’re dangerous.” They always seemed to be talking about something a little bit more than baseball. People have all sorts of opinions about how a sporting event should be announced, and I will admit being more susceptible than most to those opinions. But Nuxie’s broadcasting wasn’t about style or form or any of that. He made his mistakes, mispronounced some names, whatever. His humanity always came through. At the end of any broadcast, you would think: “Wow, that’s a great guy. I’d love to have a beer with him and just talk baseball.”

I had that chance a time or two during my Cincinnati columnist days. And if you’ve ever heard Joe Nuxhall call a baseball game, you already know what it was like. Everybody loved Nuxie.

Joe Nuxhall retired in 2004, but he would pop back into the booth every now and again. He had a lot of health problems in his final days, — he was in and out of hospitals — but he still made his way around town, working the endless number of charities that wanted his name connected to their causes. He died late Thursday night. He was 79.

Nuxie used to end every broadcast the same way — he used to say, “This is the ol’ lefthander rounding third and heading for home.” When you heard that, I don’t know, it just made you feel like you were home too. Sully was right. He was the biggest man in town.

[George Anderson]

I had the thrill of meeting Joe when he came to Indy to do a card show back around 1980. Not a lot of people were there to get his autograph at the time I was there so as a 12 year old kid I was able to have free access to him for quite some time. He was incredibly nice and friendly and even was quite patient as I gave him 40 -50 trade proposals the Reds could use for the upcoming year. :p:

BTW If you haven't read his recent autobiography that was published about his life and career then make it a point to do so. It will really make you appreciate and admire the person he was if you didnt already.

[37red]

I just have too many thoughts and memories from meeting him personally when I was a kid at Wilson Junior High, he wasn't a kid then ;-). A signed ball, handshakes, a card and lot's of listening time. Just can't say it all. It would be nice if he was honored at the hall of fame or the stadium.

[Caseyfan21]

Funeral will likely be on Tuesday according to Pete Rose who was just on WLW.

[Topcat]

The voice of the Reds is now silent but it rings forever in my heart. God bless you Joe.

[Danny Serafini]

Per Trent-

The arrangements for Joe Nuxhall have been finalized.

A private funeral will be Wednesday, Nov. 21. A public visitation will be held Tuesday, Nov. 20, from 4p.m. to 8 p.m. at Fairfield High School Arena.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Joe Nuxhall Hope Project,
c/o Fairfield Community Foundation
5350 Pleasant Ave.
Fairfield, OH 45014

[redsmetz]

The NY Times now has their own piece up by their regular obit writer. Isn't that something, a regular guy like Nux in the NY Times:


Joe Nuxhall, Pitcher for Reds, Is Dead
By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN

Joe Nuxhall, who became the youngest player in modern major league history when he pitched in one game for the 1944 Cincinnati Reds at age 15, then went on to spend more than half a century with the Reds as a pitcher and broadcaster, died Thursday in Fairfield, Ohio, outside Cincinnati. He was 79.

His death, at a hospital, was announced by the Reds, who said he had lymphoma.

On the afternoon of Saturday, June 10, 1944, four days after the D-Day invasion, the Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals were playing at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field as World War II baseball carried on with players rejected for military service or too young or too old for the draft. The Cardinals, en route to a third straight pennant, were leading the Reds, 13-0, in the eighth inning when the Cincinnati manager, Bill McKechnie, beckoned to a young man seated in the dugout. He was 6 feet 3 inches and weighed about 190 pounds, a left-handed pitcher who threw a fastball 85 miles an hour. He had spent the spring in junior high school.

A year earlier, the Reds had scouted a right-handed pitcher named Orville Nuxhall, who was playing in a Hamilton, Ohio, Sunday baseball league. They also noticed his son, Joe, barely in his teens, who was also pitching in that league.

Joe Nuxhall signed with Cincinnati in February 1944, and when his ninth-grade classes in Hamilton let out, he got into uniform on occasion at the Reds’ home games.

Then came the moment in the debacle against the Cardinals when his manager told him to grab his glove and head to the bullpen. Wearing cleats borrowed from a friend, Nuxhall made it as far as the top step of the dugout.

“I was scared to death,” he told The Associated Press 50 years later. “I got all shook up and tripped over the top step and fell flat on my face in the dirt.”

Nuxhall did make it to the bullpen, then entered the game at the start of the ninth inning, arriving in the major leagues at the age of 15 years, 10 months, 11 days. He got the first Cardinal batter, George Fallon, to ground out, then walked the St. Louis pitcher, Mort Cooper. He induced the next hitter, Augie Bergamo, to fly out. While facing Debs Garms, the 1940 league batting champion, when he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Nuxhall glanced at the on-deck circle.

Waiting to hit, if Nuxhall couldn’t get Garms out, was Stan Musial, the 1943 batting champion.

An unnerved Nuxhall walked Garms. Musial followed with a line single to right, and then Nuxhall walked three batters, made a wild pitch and gave up another hit. With five runs in, McKechnie took Nuxhall back to the dugout.

“Those people that were at Crosley Field that afternoon probably said, ‘Well, that’s the last we’ll see of that kid,’ ” Nuxhall recalled long afterward.

A few days after his abortive debut, he was sent to the Reds’ Birmingham, Ala., farm team, and in the fall he entered high school, regaining his baseball eligibility when he became a senior. After pitching in the minors for several seasons, Nuxhall returned to the Reds in 1952. He pitched in the major leagues through the 1966 season, nearly all of that time with Cincinnati, and was a two-time All-Star. He led the National League in shutouts in 1955 with 5 and had a career record of 135-117.

Nuxhall broadcast full time for the Reds from 1967 to 2004, teaming for most of those years on radio with Marty Brennaman. He broadcast a few games during the past three seasons.

Nuxhall is survived by his wife, Donzetta, and his sons Phil and Kim.

At the entrance to the Reds’ Great American Ball Park, which opened in 2003, a bronze statue depicts Nuxhall in his pitching motion. There are also likenesses of the former Reds stars Ted Kluszewski, Frank Robinson and Ernie Lombardi.

Kluszewski was known as Klu, and Lombardi was called the Schnozz, for his prominent nose. Nuxhall’s self-descriptive phrase reflected his longevity with the Reds but seemed a bit odd considering the moment he was most remembered for. He signed off on broadcasts by saying: “This is the ol’ left-hander, rounding third and heading for home.”

[redsmetz]

I talked to my dad this afternoon, the same age as Nuxhall was. He too had been a salesman for trucking companies. I asked if he and Joe ever crossed paths. Oh, yeah, he said, they'd see each other making calls, did some golf outings together. Always real pleasant. He talked about Wally Post and Jim O'Toole also being sales reps during the off season.

Well, dang, dad! How come you never brought them around, I asked.

[Krusty]

God bless you Old Lefthander. You were a part of my life as a young teenager back in the 70s right up to today.

Today my heart aches.

[37red]

I hear there's going to be a TV special at 4:30 today.

[BuckWoody]

I didn't figure it would be long before Jim Borgman would have a tribute. Nicely done.

http://borgman.enquirer.com/img/daily/2007/11/111707borgman600.jpg

[37red]

perfect

[Matt700wlw]

:clap:

That's all I have.

[redsmetz]

I figured Borgman would get it right. I've printed it up and will put it on my fridge.

[Tommyjohn25]

I didn't figure it would be long before Jim Borgman would have a tribute. Nicely done.

http://borgman.enquirer.com/img/daily/2007/11/111707borgman600.jpg


:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry: It's really hard to work all day, in retail, with a lump in your throat. Every summer through childhood I went to sleep to Joes voice. It seems ridiculous to say this about someone I never met in person, but a small part of myself died today with the Ol' Lefthander. What a damn fine human being.

[Cedric]

This has been like losing an old friend. I'm crushed today. I'm so emotional I can barely even think, much else write.

Thanks Joe! We will miss you.

[SunDeck]

Whenever I heard his voice I was transported to the back porch of our house when I was a kid. I can see it now- the red transistor radio, my dad's bottle of Burger, and I can hear him still, "the wind and the pitch....swing anna miss."

Nuxhall provided a measure of continuity for Reds fans. My dad had Hoyt and we listened to Marty and Joe together. That's a special thing about those long time radio guys, being more a part of the team they cover than the players and managers.

I'll miss you Joe. A little piece of me is lost now that you're gone.

[TeamBoone]

It was 'Rounding third and heading for heaven'

or so I heard, could be lore already seeping in though.

VP, its a perfect gesture and tribute to a great human being.

No, that's what it was. They actually showed the ball on the local news.

[marcshoe]

I've been putting off coming here because of this. Nothing to say, or at least nothing I can say right now.

[Ltlabner]

I didn't figure it would be long before Jim Borgman would have a tribute. Nicely done.

http://borgman.enquirer.com/img/daily/2007/11/111707borgman600.jpg

Ok.....now I'm a crying mess.

Like everybody I can remember those late night west coast games and sneaking a tranisitor radio into the bedroom.

All time favorite Joe story is the interview with Luise Quinonis (sp?). To this day it cracks my father and I up.

We're going to a wedding tonight, but afterwards I think we'll drive downtown and go past the stadium to see it darkened except the "rounding third....." and Joes statute and say good-bye.

[Matt700wlw]

Nice video from ESPN

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3113499

[Matt700wlw]

Daugherty:




Joe Nuxhall

He was the only person I've ever known about whom a bad word was never spoken. If you can live your entire life and have that be your epitaph, you've led quite a life. We've lost someone essential to who we are around here, someone who represented what we like to think is our finest nature. We're friendly, if guarded if we don't know you. We're approachable. If you need us, we're there.

Mostly, we're regular. We're incapable of pretense. Who you see is who you get and once we love you, we don't leave. Joe never left. He never will, of course.

On the radio, where most of us knew him, Joe was summer. He sounded like baseball: Lolling, drowsy, taking his own sweet time. Balls went to right-left-center. Latin names could be mangled. Calls on close plays could take days and really, so what? You didn't listen to Joe for perfection. Or, maybe you did. Perfection assumes different forms.

The best ambassador we've ever known has passed. He'll be missed.

[TeamCasey]

That's the best way to say it .... "Joe was summer".

[UKFlounder]

What tough, sad news to try to comprehend all day at work. I still don't know what to say, but have to say something.

At least he's in no more suffering or no more pain - simply eternal spring training for the Old Left Hander.

A big part of my youth (I'm now 34) is gone.

Head on home, Joe. Head on home, buddy.

[OnBaseMachine]

Very, very, very sad news. I feel like I just lost my best friend. RIP Joe, you will be dearly missed. Thanks for everything you did for Reds baseball.

[GAC]

When he entered the hospital this last time I was worried. Growing up, he was the Reds on radio to me, listening to him and Al Michaels. It will not be the same for me. Thanks for the memories Joe.

My heartfelt prayers go out to the Nuxhall family.

I hope this organization does something really special to honor Joe this next season.

[Caseyfan21]

I thought of another story about Nuxhall. I spent the summer working in Arizona 2 years ago. The apartment we lived at didn't have internet but we could check email and do a little web surfing at a computer over in the main building of the apartment complex. So I had a subscription to the radio streams on MLB.com but I rarely ever listened because it was inconvenient to go over and spend a long time over at computers, not to mention the game times were always 3 hrs earlier. But whenever Joe came back to do a series with Marty I always made sure to hurry home from work so I could go listen to a few innings of the game.

Rarely in life do you get the opportunity to take something for granted, and then after realizing you took it for granted get the chance to have it back again. I think most everyone probably took Marty and Joe for granted and assumed they would be doing games forever. Then, Joe retired in 2004 and we realized just how great it really was to listen to him calling a game, even if he wasn't the smoothest. I usually listened to the games he came back to do. There's just something special about listening to the game on the radio, something that can't be matched in any other sport than baseball.

[flyer85]

a melancholy day. My daughter had surgery on her hip this morning, come home and find out Joe had passed.

Too bad the news has to be dominated by someone like Bonds ona day when a true original with a heart of gold has left us.

[MrCinatit]

Haven't read through the thread yet, but wanted to say that I heard this on the radio AS I WAS DRIVING PAST the ballpark this morning. Very weird.

I want to put flowers at his statue at the ballpark this afternoon. Is that a nice gesture or does it cross the line into Crazyfan?

If you haven't done it, do it - put some down for those of us who are cannot be there, please.

[Falls City Beer]

One thing that I will always carry with me is the memory of Joe interviewing guys half his age--young men who I feel certain did and perhaps still do think awfully highly of themselves--and completely disarming them. Not through intimidation or grousing, but through a nonpareil charm. By the end of the interview, this hot young star was addressing him as "sir" or for the hometown boys, "Nuxie." Everything about Joe Nuxhall--everything--was unaffected. There was simply no artifice there--that "aw shucks" attitude? Not false modesty; the real thing.

In many ways, Joe connected me to a city towards which I've long held an ambivalent and sometimes hostile attitude. Cincinnati was my home for the first eighteen years of my life and as such was formative--the place I grew up with and to some extent against. But Joe represented in my mind everything great about the place that I still call home. Avuncular, kind, midwestern. Decent. Good god what a decent man. His voice connected so many important moments in my life, it's almost impossible for me to separate his words and inflections from all of those summer days and nights constitutive of my family, loves, myself. As elemental in many ways as the crickets or bullfrogs I'd hear as the broadcast came to an end and I turned off the radio. Joe could be absolutely blitzed on air, but like a character from Hemingway, there was no shaking his dignity; his quiet center held up despite the occasional beer hiccups or on-air burps.

One of the last times I heard Joe on the radio was when I listened to a broadcast of a nighttime Spring Training game, seven or eight years ago, I guess. I was on my way up I-75 to pick up my wife and daughter who were staying at a friend's place in Windsor, Ontario, just across the river from Detroit. It was cold as hell--just a brutal March cold snap. Because it was night I was able to hear the game up through Toledo and into Michigan, and just as my car hit the Ambassador Bridge, I heard Joe call one of his barking, "getup" home run calls (Chris Stynes, maybe?). It was the last call I remember hearing, as I crossed into Canada, and the signal broke up for good.

[Reds Nd2]

I've been putting off coming here because of this.
I haven't been around lately, but this is the first place I thought of. I can't think of a better place to mourn someone who meant so much, to so many. While I don't know anyone here, I still feel like I'm among friends. It's a good place to be.

From Joe's Final Sign-off: Long... (http://http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/cin/fan_forum/nuxhall_tribute.jsp)

Marty (Obviously breaking up): "We'll have a hard time getting through this..."

Joe (Sounding cheerful): "Oh, we'll make it..."

Thank you Joe, for everything. Even the words that you left in the past, might hopefully make us all feel better in the present. "Oh, we'll make it...", but without you, it won't be the same. You will be missed Joe. Unlike Matt Holliday, make sure you touch home. :)

Godspeed.

[Matt700wlw]

Something I put together for today's show.....

I had trouble getting through it enough to finish it

I think I'm cool now... :)

[GullyFoyle]

Something I put together for today's show.....

Very nice... thanks for posting it. Its hard to save some of the sound files found around the web.

[bucksfan]

sitting here, thinking I maybe should be getting fired up for "the Game" - or something else -, just crying my freaking eyes out instead..... God Bless you Joe Nuxhall.

[UKFlounder]

Something I put together for today's show.....

I had trouble getting through it enough to finish it

I think I'm cool now... :)

Very nice job on that. Just wonderful

:cry:

[redsfan4445]

Something I put together for today's show..... :)

Thanks Matt.. you did a awesome job!! It brought tears to my eyes ... i haven't cried like this since my little boy had a seizure.. really touches the heart!!
We are going to Miss Joe so much!! Just driving past the ballpark and seeing just his saying in lights, i saluted Joe and thanked him for the memories!

[WVRedsFan]

Something I put together for today's show.....

I had trouble getting through it enough to finish it

I think I'm cool now... :)

I'm not. Today was a totally unproductive day. I closed my office door and read the board and listened to all the tribute clips and cried. My office staff heard me sobbing and demanded to kinow what was going on. When I told them I was surprised that they understood. My whole office is decorated with Reds stuff. They left me alone.

You knew the day was coming. It was obvious in his physical appearance, though his voice was fine. And I really expected it, but you don't prepare yourself to ever lose a grandpa. That's what he was -- every Reds fan's grandpa.

Matt, you did a great job. Thanks.

[Chip R]

Nice job, Matt.

[Caseyfan21]

Yeah, that was an awesome tribute Matt, and thanks for sharing it on here.

[BuckWoody]

Haven't read through the thread yet, but wanted to say that I heard this on the radio AS I WAS DRIVING PAST the ballpark this morning. Very weird.

I want to put flowers at his statue at the ballpark this afternoon. Is that a nice gesture or does it cross the line into Crazyfan?
Did you drop by VP? If so, what was the scene like?

I stopped on my way home from work tonight and bought a dozen roses for my wife. She was very happy (probably a little shocked as well) and understood when I said that eleven of them were for her. I plan on getting down to the football game a little early on Sunday and laying the twelfth by Joe's statue.

This thread has been very cathartic for me today. I'd visit periodically and read a few posts until I'd start to mist up, then close up my browser only to be drawn back a few hours later. I finally read through the whole thing once I got home. I also took the time to watch and listen to all of the tributes...which brought on more tears. Like most of you, it's been a rough day for me. I'm surprised by how much I've been affected by the loss of a man that I never actually met. I can only guess that that speaks to the character of the man we lost. I may have never met Joe but I certainly felt like I knew him and that I was a better person for having known him. I take some solace in knowing, or at least hoping, that Joe had some sense of just what he meant to so many people.

[redsmetz]

My wife and I went to a movie tonight, saw some friends and went to Sitwells with them. Afterward we decided to go down to GABP. We called our oldest daughter and she went with us. Very nice scene, not overflowing with stuff, which was nice. It's blurry, but here's a shot from my phone.

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa189/jametz/NuxieShrine.jpg

[Deepred05]

I remember Joe when I was in the fourth grade, coming to our school and signing autographs for every kid in the school. Had something nice to say to every one of us, like how you doing young fella, are you gonna play for the Reds someday? Something, you know, that didn't make you feel like he was being burdened to sign all those autographs. It wasn't just a job or a chore to him, he honestly enjoyed being around us kids.

I am struck by the number of references to grandfathers in this thread. I used to love sitting around the fire at Bar K lake and listening to Joe and Marty and even Al Michaels before him with my grandfather. This is a very sad day for me.

[BuckWoody]

My wife and I went to a movie tonight, saw some friends and went to Sitwells with them. Afterward we decided to go down to GABP. We called our oldest daughter and she went with us. Very nice scene, not overflowing with stuff, which was nice. It's blurry, but here's a shot from my phone.
Thanks for the pic, redsmetz...

[Ravenlord]

I didn't figure it would be long before Jim Borgman would have a tribute. Nicely done.

http://borgman.enquirer.com/img/daily/2007/11/111707borgman600.jpg

i cried for about five minutes after seeing that...

[Phhhl]

Good job, Matt! I really enjoyed listening to the mp3.

[Ron Madden]

I've often heard "There is no crying in Baseball".

That's not so.

God Bless You Joe.

:( :cry:

[MrCinatit]

Very good job, Matt.

And thank you very much for the picture, Redsmetz.

[RollyInRaleigh]

Thanks, Matt. It brought tears to my eyes.

[membengal]

A thousand thanks Matt. Love having that file. Even though it is making me cry.

[RFS62]

Nice job, Matt. That was very cool listening to those clips again.

RIP, Joe. No one ever loved the game more.

[redsmetz]

The Washington Post obit, with a little more detail about Joe's debut and early career


Joe Nuxhall, 79; Youngest Player In Major League History, at 15

By Matt Schudel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 17, 2007; B06

Joe Nuxhall, a left-handed pitcher whose 1944 debut at age 15 with the Cincinnati Reds made him the youngest player in major league history, died Nov. 15 at Mercy Hospital in Fairfield, Ohio. He was 79 and had cancer and heart ailments.

Mr. Nuxhall was only a few days removed from pitching for his junior high school team in Hamilton, Ohio, when the Reds offered him a contract to fill out a roster depleted when players were called to action in World War II.

He had an inauspicious performance in his first game, against Stan Musial's St. Louis Cardinals, and would not appear again in the big leagues for eight years. But he went on to have a solid pitching career and worked for 40 years as a radio broadcaster with the Reds.

Mr. Nuxhall was beloved in Cincinnati, and a statue depicting him as a 15-year-old pitcher stands outside the Reds' new stadium, the Great American Ball Park. He was known to fans as "Nuxie" and "the ol' left-hander."

Mr. Nuxhall got his chance to play professional baseball when scouts came to watch his father, Orville, an outstanding amateur pitcher. The elder Nuxhall turned down an offer, preferring to keep his job in a tool factory to support his wife and five children. But the scouts noticed his son, a strapping 6-foot-3, dominating hitters twice his age in a weekend industrial league.

The young left-hander impressed the Reds' manager, Bill McKechnie, with his control and his 85 mph fastball. His parents agreed to let him play home games for the Reds, provided that he finish the school year first. He was in the ninth grade.

Too young to have a driver's license, Mr. Nuxhall rode a bus 30 miles to downtown Cincinnati, where the Reds played before sparse crowds at Crosley Field. He sat on the bench until June 10, 1944, when McKechnie asked him to warm up. Only 3,510 spectators attended the game.

Mr. Nuxhall, wearing a borrowed pair of baseball shoes, entered the game in the ninth inning with his team trailing the Cardinals, 13-0. He got two outs and gave up two walks before Musial -- the top hitter in the National League that year -- stepped to the plate.

"Probably two weeks prior to that, I was pitching against seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders, kids 13 and 14 years old," Mr. Nuxhall recalled in 1994. "All of a sudden, I look up and there's Stan Musial and the likes. It was a very scary situation."

Musial lined a single to right field, and after that Mr. Nuxhall fell apart. He allowed another hit and three more walks, giving up five runs.

"That's enough, kid," McKechnie said when he relieved Mr. Nuxhall after two-thirds of an inning. The final score was 18-0.

Joseph Henry Nuxhall was born July 30, 1928, and was known as Sonny in his home town. He was a superb athlete, but because of his professional contract, he was not allowed to play sports in high school for two years.

After sitting out the 1946 minor league season, Mr. Nuxhall was reinstated for his senior year and received many college scholarship offers in football and basketball.

He stayed with baseball and in 1952 was recalled by the Reds. In 1955, he won 17 games and led the National League with five shutouts. He was an all-star in 1955 and 1956 but was released by the Reds in 1960. As a result, he missed the Reds' National League championship season of 1961.

But he returned to the team in 1962 and the next year had his finest season, with a 15-8 record and an earned run average of 2.61. He retired in 1966 with 135 career victories and joined the Reds' radio team the next year. He was paired with Hall of Fame announcer Marty Brennaman from 1974 to 2004.

Mr. Nuxhall might not have been the most incisive or lyrical commentator, and one Cincinnati writer said he "sometimes can be so deadly silent during a game . . . that we wonder whether he's fallen asleep."

But Reds fans liked his folksy style, and there was an outcry when Mr. Nuxhall was forced out of his job in 2004, 60 years after his debut as a professional pitcher. In the end, the club allowed him to work a limited schedule through the 2007 season.

Mr. Nuxhall either played in or broadcast from 59 major league stadiums. The second half of his radio sign-off, "This is the ol' left-hander, rounding third and heading for home," is emblazoned on the facade of the Reds' ballpark.

Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Donzetta Nuxhall of Fairfield, and two sons.

[redsmetz]

And Lonnie Wheeler's column today.


The Ol' Lefthander was an Average Joe

The Ol' Lefthander was an Average Joe who struck a chord with fans and 'just never came to grips with the fact that so many people love him'
Column by The Post's Lonnie Wheeler

As soon as he gets settled in, Joe Nuxhall's probably going to roll over and tell the lucky fellow in the next grave how great he feels.

Death at 79 would not find the Ol' Lefthander complaining. He'd insist it was only him, Average Joe, just a little cancer, nothing to get worked up about - certainly not like a big leaguer loafing to first or throwing to the wrong base. He'd ask you to lift the somber tones, and perhaps a cold one while you're at it.

What a gift he had for being like the rest of us. Joe Nuxhall was a twofold phenomenon. His uniqueness was in how completely he was loved by the Cincinnati baseball community. And more extraordinarily, it was in how completely he loved it back.

Typically, a baseball fan's open adoration goes unrequited. Players and public figures will offer the proper lip service to their deep appreciation; but they will not give themselves over to it. They will not lose their dignity over it.

Nuxhall's dignity was a different sort. It had to do with his willingness to put the regular kind aside if, say, a long fly off the bat of Eric Davis had a chance of leaving the ballpark and giving Cincinnati a late-inning lead. When accused of being an unabashed, unprofessional fan - of being that lowly, reprehensible thing known in the announcing business as a homer - Hamilton Joe would say, "That doesn't bother me one lousy bit."

And he was bigger for it. He was undiminished, unaffected, uncompromised and, all the while, unequivocally embraced by his three-headed hometown.

He became so big around here that they named a street for Nuxhall on the border of Hamilton, where he grew up, and Fairfield, where he and Donzetta - to whom he proposed on his graduation night at Hamilton High - raised Phil and Kim. Downtown, on the Great American Ball Park plaza, they put up a statue of Nuxie pitching nervously and historically against the Cardinals at the age of 15. Friday, local folks were placing flowers at its feet.

His magnitude, however, is best measured by the way he bursts the seams of our affection. "He was genuinely shocked the way people felt about him," Marty Brennaman, his broadcasting partner for 31 years, said Friday from the Pacific Ocean, heading home from a cruise that Nuxhall, too, would have been on if his health had permitted. "He just never came to grips with the fact that so many people love him in the manner in which they did.

"I think that, in the long history of the franchise, he is the No. 1 figure for all time. He's the guy you put on the cover of the book about the history of the Cincinnati Reds. He's the face of the franchise. You can talk about Pete Rose or whoever else you want, but nobody is in the league of Joe Nuxhall."

Certainly, no one started sooner, lasted longer, rooter harder, reveled in it quite as much. The legend goes back to 1944, when his dad, called Ox, was pitching in the local leagues and the Reds, depleted by World War II, came offering a pittance. Ox pointed them to his lanky teen-aged son, whom the rugged father would catch barehanded if the boy wasn't throwing hard enough to suit him.

But he threw hard enough to suit the Reds, who plopped him down on their bench. Young Nuxhall would catch the bus when school was out at Wilson Junior High, jump off at Brighton Corner and walk the remaining six blocks to Crosley Field. Pitching in an actual game hadn't seemed to occur to him until, on June 10, St. Louis rolled out to a 13-0 lead and there was no reason for Bill McKechnie, the Reds' manager, to hold the kid out any longer.

The inning took him through Stan Musial, and, walking five, he didn't finish it. Nuxhall had to carry that 67.50 earned run average for eight more years, during which time he regained a year of high school eligibility and became Ohio's top basketball player.

It's said - Brennaman even said it Friday - that Nuxhall's local popularity owes, in large part, to his fame as the youngest big-league ballplayer since 1887, and to his prep stardom, and to his ultimately successful 15 seasons pitching for the Reds. And that's certainly so, to an extent. But the fact is, the Young Lefthander was run out of town in 1960, when he was 1-8.

That pretty much makes him the only man to be booed out of the franchise and then booed back in. He was sent off to Kansas City for the 1961 season, when the Reds won their only pennant during his time. In the latter instance, 2002, the front office had set up a plan by which Nuxhall, who entered the broadcasting booth in 1967, would be out of it by 2004. The public outcry was so severe that the separation was softened to the degree that, as late as the most recent season - in spite of his bouts with cancer, lymphoma, pneumonia and heart trouble - the radio icon was still making periodic appearances next to Brennaman.

"Even this summer," Brennaman noted, "his voice was strong and he really sounded on top of his game. He was screwing names up, which was beautiful."

For all the wonderful things attributed to Nuxhall, mastery of the language was never one of them. It's a testament to his stature that, night after night, as he posed yet another non-question to the Star of the Game ("Barry, you know, you talk about your plays at shortstop, and, in all honesty, that one tonight, I guess it proves that when you play the game the right way, you just never know, and that's about all you can say . . . "), the player would simply proceed, politely, with his answer, with nary a smart remark.

And it's a salute to Nuxhall's place in the community that his mumbling and fumbling and protracted periods of silence - you knew it was the seventh inning if you turned on the game and heard nothing - lessened his popularity not even a little bit.

"His butchering of the English language, or consistently messing up of tough names, that all added to his appeal," said Brennaman. "I never said to anyone, 'What the hell is this guy doing in the big leagues?', because I realized the connection he had, religiously, with those people who turned on the broadcast every night. Joe was just a very special guy that people could relate to.

"It might not have worked in New York or Los Angeles or Chicago or Boston, but it worked in Cincinnati. We used to get cards from people who came to Cincinnati from somewhere else, and they'd been exposed to Vin Scully or Russ Hodges or Al Michaels or Jack Buck, and Joe was so extraordinarily different that it would take people a while to get used to him. They'd say, 'He's the worst I ever heard.' Then those same people would come back a year later and say, 'Boy, it's amazing how he's grown on me. I truly enjoy listening to his style.' ''

Didn't we all? Didn't it just feel right?

Didn't it just go along ever so nicely with the hum of the lawnmower down the street, the slam of the screen door, the sizzle of the metts on the grill? Didn't it just sound like Cincinnati's summer, Cincinnati's style, Cincinnati's soul?

Where do those things go when they round third? That's where you'll find Joe.

[vaticanplum]

I'm really enjoying everyone's words here. Very nice and personal tribute.

I agree with Redsmetz, it's a very nice scene at the statue. A handful of people there at any given time, reverant but not overflowing with kitsch. Worth going to to pay your respects...I can't think of a better place to do so than the ballpark. I've always loved where the statue is placed anyway, on a green leading up to the ballpark, and all of a sudden it's all the more appropriate with the light placed on it.

The scoreboard is lit up as well with scenes from Joe's life and a banner sign next to it. I took some pictures...normally I hate breaking out the camera at serious scenes, but everyone else was so I went for it. The final picture is of, I think, the most appropriate tribute.

[KronoRed]

Thanks for the pictures VP and Redsmetz.

[Reds Fanatic]

This is a nice tribute video from the Dayton Daily News website:

http://www.daytondailynews.com/m/mplayer/m/40949

[MWM]

This is a nice tribute video from the Dayton Daily News website:

http://www.daytondailynews.com/m/mplayer/m/40949

Wow! I've been a bit emotional, but managed to hold back any tears until I watched that. It's amazing how much a voice on the radio can mean to so many people. Joe was special.

[Aronchis]

The last time I heard Joe on radio was during a game in the 1996 season, when Reggie Sanders hit a homer off the Pepi sign, or something along those lines.

It was quite funny, but everything we loved about him.

[redsmetz]

I hope folks don't mind all these alternate obits. Here's a column from the Columbus Dispatch, a writer who is a Hamilton native himself


Joe Nuxhall, 1928-2007: The old left-hander was everyone's friend
Saturday, November 17, 2007 3:49 AM
By Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
<p>Joe Nuxhall endeared himself to Reds fans first as a 15-year-old pitcher and then as a longtime broadcaster.</p>
AL BEHRMAN | Associated Press

Joe Nuxhall endeared himself to Reds fans first as a 15-year-old pitcher and then as a longtime broadcaster.

I lost a good friend Thursday night when Joe Nuxhall succumbed to his long battle with cancer.

I imagine that thousands of Cincinnati Reds fans awoke yesterday to the news of Nuxhall's death in Fairfield, Ohio, with a similar ache. It wouldn't have mattered whether they had ever met Joe. "The old left-hander" counted as a family member in a way that few professional sports figures in any town ever have or ever will.

The essence of Nuxhall as a player for the Reds and later as a radio broadcaster for the team was that he never met a stranger, never put on airs and never tired of preaching the gospel of baseball. He also never forgot his roots.

In death, Joe was only a short drive from his childhood home on the west side of Hamilton, where his baseball life began on the sandlots of that blue-collar city in the 1940s.

Major League Baseball, strapped for talent during World War II, began beating the bushes. The Reds went to Hamilton to scout a 35-year-old pitcher named Orville Nuxhall. They signed his 15-year-old son.

Over the years, Joe probably told the story of his big-league debut against the St. Louis Cardinals more times than Homer recited the Iliad. The difference would have been that Joe always got more laughs.

"They wanted me to sign (in 1943) and send me to Ogden, Utah," Nuxhall recalled in a 1987 interview. "We turned it down, though. We had one more year to go at Wilson (Junior High) with the basketball team. We had won two straight championships in the junior high league, so I stayed and played that season and then signed."

The Reds gave Nuxhall a contract that paid him the princely sum of $175 a month, plus a $500 bonus. He became the youngest player ever to appear in a big-league game when he pitched against the Cardinals on June 10, 1944. The Reds were trailing 13-0. He got two outs before he spotted the great Stan Musial in the on-deck circle. Stan the Man started the landslide.

"When I left, it was 18-0 with still one out to get," Nuxhall said, laughing. "They got me out of there in a hurry."

It took him eight years to return to the big leagues. He stayed for 16 seasons, 15 with the Reds. He went to the radio booth in 1967 and ultimately formed a partnership there with Marty Brennaman.

"Probably if it had been any other team than the Reds, I wouldn't have signed," Nuxhall said. "I don't think my dad would have let me sign. If you had told me when I was 30 that I'd be doing what I'm doing now, I wouldn't have believed you."

But Nuxhall stayed with the Reds and did so much more than play and talk about baseball. His charity work in Butler County raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for troubled children and scholarships for an estimated 400 high school seniors since 1989.

I met Joe for the first time in the offices of the Hamilton Journal-News in 1974. In my five years at my hometown newspaper, I grew accustomed to seeing him at high school football or basketball games. In the summer, it was nothing to find Joe leaning on a fence at a Little League game. He talked to anyone and everyone.

I left Hamilton in 1979 and didn't see Joe much over the next eight years. But one spring morning in Tampa, Fla., in 1987, I walked into a hotel restaurant to begin a story on the first Reds fantasy camp. I must have looked a little lost.

Joe's welcoming voice boomed from a table across the room. "Hey, Mass, what are you doing here?"

I remember smiling and feeling like I was home.

[Chip R]

From the NY Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/17/sports/baseball/17nuxhall.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries&oref=slogin

Joe Nuxhall, Modern Baseball’s Youngest Player, Is Dead at 79

By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN
Published: November 17, 2007


Joe Nuxhall, who became the youngest player in modern major league history when he pitched in one game for the 1944 Reds at age 15, then went on to spend more than half a century with Cincinnati as a pitcher and broadcaster, died Thursday in Fairfield, Ohio, outside Cincinnati. He was 79.

His death, at a hospital, was announced by the Reds, who said he had lymphoma.

On the afternoon of Saturday, June 10, 1944, four days after the D-Day invasion, the Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals were playing at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field as World War II baseball carried on with players who were rejected for military service or were too young or too old for the draft. The Cardinals, en route to a third consecutive pennant, were leading the Reds, 13-0, in the eighth inning when Cincinnati Manager Bill McKechnie beckoned to a young man seated in the dugout.

He was 6 feet 3 inches and weighed about 190 pounds, a left-handed pitcher who threw a fastball 85 miles an hour. He had spent the spring in junior high school.

A year earlier, the Reds scouted a right-handed pitcher named Orville Nuxhall, who was playing in a Hamilton, Ohio, Sunday baseball league. They also noticed his son, Joe, barely in his teens, who was also pitching in the league.

Joe Nuxhall signed with Cincinnati in February 1944, and when his ninth-grade classes in Hamilton let out, he would occasionally get into uniform at the Reds’ home games.

Then came the moment in the debacle against the Cardinals when his manager told him to grab his glove and head to the bullpen. Wearing cleats borrowed from a friend, Nuxhall made it as far as the top step of the dugout.

“I was scared to death,” he told The Associated Press 50 years later. “I got all shook up and tripped over the top step and fell flat on my face in the dirt.”

Nuxhall did make it to the bullpen, then entered the game at the start of the ninth inning, arriving in the major leagues at the age of 15 years 10 months 11 days. He got the first Cardinals batter, George Fallon, to ground out, then walked St. Louis pitcher Mort Cooper. He induced the next hitter, Augie Bergamo, to fly out. While facing Debs Garms, the 1940 league batting champion when he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Nuxhall glanced at the on-deck circle.

Waiting to hit next was Stan Musial, the 1943 batting champion. Nuxhall walked Garms. Musial followed with a line single to right, then Nuxhall walked three batters, threw a wild pitch and gave up another hit. With five runs in, McKechnie took Nuxhall back to the dugout.

“Those people that were at Crosley Field that afternoon probably said, ‘Well, that’s the last we’ll see of that kid,’ ” Nuxhall recalled long afterward.

A few days after his abortive debut, he was sent to the Reds’ farm team in Birmingham, Ala., and in the fall he entered high school, regaining his baseball eligibility when he became a senior. After pitching in the minors for several seasons, Nuxhall returned to the Reds in 1952. He pitched in the major leagues through the 1966 season, nearly all of that time with Cincinnati, and was a two-time All-Star. He led the National League in shutouts in 1955 with five and had a career record of 135-117.

Nuxhall was a full-time broadcaster for the Reds from 1967 to 2004, teaming for most of those years on radio with Marty Brennaman. He broadcast a few games in the past three seasons.

Nuxhall is survived by his wife, Donzetta, and his sons, Phil and Kim.

At the entrance to the Reds’ Great American Ball Park, which opened in 2003, a bronze statue depicts Nuxhall in his pitching motion. There are also likenesses of the former Reds stars Ted Kluszewski, Frank Robinson and Ernie Lombardi.

Kluszewski was known as Klu, and Lombardi was called the Schnozz, for his prominent nose. Nuxhall’s self-descriptive phrase reflected his longevity with the Reds but seemed a bit odd considering the moment he was most remembered for. He signed off on broadcasts by saying: “This is the ol’ left-hander, rounding third and heading for home.”

[redsfan4445]

Wow I just watched the video from the Dayton paper.. it was so touching it got my eyes watering all over again.... I never met him, but feel i knew him like a grandfather..i miss him and i know i will have tears again on opening day.. On the radio today, they said you could look at GABP last night from the Kentucky side.. the light in the radio booth was left on as well.. that gave me a lump in the throat hearing that..and tears in my eyes...

[Matt700wlw]

Wow I just watched the video from the Dayton paper.. it was so touching it got my eyes watering all over again.... I never met him, but feel i knew him like a grandfather..i miss him and i know i will have tears again on opening day..

He'll be at opening day. He'll be there everyday.

....As he always was.

[traderumor]

Matt,

I don't know if this is a WLW or MLB issue, but it would be a great tribute if during the week, WLW was able to pull some full games out of the archives that Joe called and play them in their entirety for a week or so. Maybe from a cross section of years, maybe some obscure but good games from the late 60s, early 70, 80s, and 90s.

Sure would beat the heck out of listening to whatever genius is talking about some innane topic in the offseason. Any chance of making that recommendation?

[BoydsOfSummer]

For the first time ever I dread coming to RedsZone. I know when I do, I will see some more things to make me cry.

Part of the mourning process I suppose.

[WMR]

Thanks, Matt. It brought tears to my eyes.

Me too.

That's really top-notch work, Matt. Very professional.

[Matt700wlw]

Thanks, I'm glad you guys appreciate it.

[savafan]

I was in Cincinnati the entire day yesterday. I drove by the stadium on three different occasions, twice during the daylight hours and once after dark. The first I heard about Joe's passing was when I logged onto Redszone about three hours ago.

There's not much that I can add to what's already been said, just that this feels like losing part of your family...

[OldRightHander]

Well, I think I'm just about done with the sniffles and then I come home and read more of this thread. This is weird. I feel the loss here as much as I have with friends I have lost. I only met Joe a couple times and only spoke to him very briefly on those occasions, yet I feel like I have lost a close friend.

Since Joe passed I have been in Detroit, Toledo, then St. Louis, and then back home tonight. I have been wearing Reds gear since yesterday and people in those cities who saw my shirt or hat have mentioned Joe and how sad they are, people who aren't even from Cincinnati. I never thought about how well known he would have been in other cities, but I heard folks talking about him in Detroit and St. Louis and there was something in the St. Louis paper today as well. I think Joe was the only person who didn't know how much he meant to so many people.

[BuckWoody]

Thanks, I'm glad you guys appreciate it.
That's really good work, Matt...thank you for sharing it.

[wheels]

I'm a Miller High Life guy, but me and my Reds fan friends drank Budweiser tonight, and talked about our favorite Joe calls.

I don't know what I'm gonna do without him, to be honest.

I never cry.

The last time I cried was when my Grandfather died a few years ago, but that didn't even happen until I was alone in the church bathroom during his memorial, and nobody knew.

I pretty much feel the same way now.

I'm not angry, or happy........I guess this is that whole "sadness" thing creeping up again.

Whoooo.

I don't like it one little bit.

When I heard Marty talking with Mike McConnell about Joe wanting to broadcast from every ballpark, and how he was upset about not making the trip to Safeco field last season.

Forget it. I don't want to think about it again.

We're never gonna hear Joe call a fly ball to "Right, Left Field" again, and I'm not sure how well I can handle that thought.

He had better be elected to that Hall of Fame.

[redsmetz]

From the Post

http://cmsimg.cincypost.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Avis=AE&Dato=20071116&Kategori=EDIT&Lopenr=71117001&Ref=AR&MaxW=424&MaxH=360&border=0

[KittyDuran]

When I heard Marty talking with Mike McConnell about Joe wanting to broadcast from every ballpark, and how he was upset about not making the trip to Safeco field last season.
It's even more sad that next season the Reds will (I think) go to Baltimore and Toronto to two parks (along with Safeco) that Joe never broadcast from...:(

[deltachi8]

I am someone who normally doesn't get upset when people who i didn't know or never met die. In fact, i find it odd sometimes how upset people get when a celebrity, etc dies.

That didn't apply here, I was truly saddened by Joe's passing. Maybe it is because while I never met joe, I felt like I genuinely knew him. I actually wrote in my blog for the first time in months this morning - I just felt the need to put it down on paper (or LCD screen as the case may be).

[redsmetz]

I'm back from Mass now and there were a handful of parishioners who wore Red to commemorate the old lefthander. One member said her great-aunt missed some family function because she and her friends were up at church saying a rosary for Nuxie. :)

[WVRedsFan]

I'm back from Mass now and there were a handful of parishioners who wore Red to commemorate the old lefthander. One member said her great-aunt missed some family function because she and her friends were up at church saying a rosary for Nuxie. :)

It's hard to believe how many people Nuxie touched. I too went to mass this morning and all the talk was about Joe. One guy,who I didn't even know was a Reds fan (and you have to understand that the parish is only about 125 people--small town), went on and on about how big of a loss this was.

It's funny how all those inaccuracies that everyone used to talk about when Joe called a game didn't matter anymore.

[37red]

Those slow and sometimes incorrect calls were always part of the game to me. But then, I grew up with those kind of announcers. Hyper active announcers in baseball especially, make me want to turn the sound down.

All I've seen and heard today were stories about Joe. Joe even broke the Bonds ceiling, I was getting tired of that story, it was depressing. The stories about Nuxhall were up lifting and positive, bringing back good memories and smiles. I hope there's a special service for him, or more importantly I guess...., for us.

[Crosley68]

A part of me goes with you Joe. Thank you for so much joy in my life. RIP

[Wheelhouse]

I wish I could hear the last Star of the Game show that Joe did with Marty. It can't be a copyright issue, as WLW streams the post game show--I know they have a transcript at the Enquirer. I just would love to hear it. Wouldn't WLW be smart to put it up on their site?

[WVPacman]

Joe buddy I already miss you!!!!! You was my favorite reds announcer along side with Marty.You was reds baseball and you will never be forgotten.My heart is broken right now but you are in a better place looking down on all of us reds fans smiling as I type this.I can't tell you how many times I listened to you since I was six years old.Im tearing up as I type this b/c my main goal was to get your's and Martys autogragh but it looks like I was a little to late.Truth be told I was going to call rob bucher monday to see if he could get in touch with you and Marty:(.I still have the memorys of listening to you call the reds games and thats something that I will never let go.

Joe,buddy I will miss you and I will never forget you.RIP Joe you was the greatest!!!!:(

[savafan]

I wish I could hear the last Star of the Game show that Joe did with Marty. It can't be a copyright issue, as WLW streams the post game show--I know they have a transcript at the Enquirer. I just would love to hear it. Wouldn't WLW be smart to put it up on their site?

It's up over on the reds.mlb.com website

[redsmetz]

Joe buddy I already miss you!!!!! You was my favorite reds announcer along side with Marty.You was reds baseball and you will never be forgotten.My heart is broken right now but you are in a better place looking down on all of us reds fans smiling as I type this.I can't tell you how many times I listened to you since I was six years old.Im tearing up as I type this b/c my main goal was to get your's and Martys autogragh but it looks like I was a little to late.Truth be told I was going to call rob bucher monday to see if he could get in touch with you and Marty:(.I still have the memorys of listening to you call the reds games and thats something that I will never let go.

Joe,buddy I will miss you and I will never forget you.RIP Joe you was the greatest!!!!:(

You know, this reminds me - this means the Reds have a prayer now.

[westofyou]

Curt Schilling weighs in

http://38pitches.com/2007/11/18/joe-nuxhall-mike-lowell-barry-bonds-alex-rodriguez/


I’d like to first pass along our sincerest sympathy and condolences to the surviving members of the Nuxhall family. Mr Nuxhall was one of my favorite media personalities over the past 20 some years in baseball. An incredibly kind man with time for everyone.

His stories were ALL funny and you could always feel his passion and love for the game when you had a chance to sit down and talk with him, an honor I had many times. Sorry to see such a kind and wonderful man, someone who did nothing but good for the game, go. He’ll be missed.

[Matt700wlw]

I wish I could hear the last Star of the Game show that Joe did with Marty. It can't be a copyright issue, as WLW streams the post game show--I know they have a transcript at the Enquirer. I just would love to hear it. Wouldn't WLW be smart to put it up on their site?

It'll be up later tonight....I have to tweak the file a little bit, and will take care of that after 6:00.

I'll supply links later

[vaticanplum]

Haven't seen this posted anywhere yet, apologies if it's redundant:

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071118/SPT04/711180463


Reds fans can see and hear Joe Nuxhall reminisce about his major-league debut, radio career and Reds history when WCET-TV repeats "Joe Nuxhall, My Life: Baseball on Beyond." Nuxhall recorded the four half-hour programs with WCPO-TV's Dennis Janson in 2005.

On the first program, to air 7:30 p.m. Monday (Channel 48), Nuxhall recalls being scouted by the Reds and his 1944 debut.

Remaining episodes will air 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 26-27.

All four episodes can be seen on demand online at www.cetconnect.org.

[marcshoe]

He was the last link to baseball as I first remember it. I began following the Reds in earnest in 1972, just before I turned ten years old. I had been hooked by the Pirates' and Roberto Clemente the previous October, and I made a decision to become a fan. All my friends were Reds fans, so this was the natural progression.

Al Michaels and Joe Nuxhall were my link to every game, and Nuxhall remained over the years. No matter how much things changed, he was still there, and he was still Joe. There wasn't a false note about him, and with him announcing, baseball still contained a kernal of the old innocence.

I grew to appreciate what he brought to the game. I loved his interviews. He brought a link to bothe the distant and the recent past, and the stories he told and that he got his old friends and colleagues to tell enriched my appreciation of the game. A couple of years ago, when the pre-game show featured a series of interviews with him to mark his retirement, all this came back, and the realization that he wouldn't be around forever set in.

He seemed like a wonderful man. I never met him, but it's hard to imagine he was any different in real life than he was on the air. I don't know. He seemed transparent, and he was from an age where transparency was easier.

I wanted to say much more, but it's gone now. I'll miss him.

[deltachi8]

Haven't seen this posted anywhere yet, apologies if it's redundant:

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071118/SPT04/711180463

Good stuff. I watched episode one yesterday.

[Big Klu]

I was unable to watch Sunday Night Football on NBC last night. Did Al Michaels have any comments about Joe?

[BuckWoody]

I was unable to watch Sunday Night Football on NBC last night. Did Al Michaels have any comments about Joe?
I'd be very interested to know that as well.

At the Bengals' game yesterday before the national anthem, they had a very nice tribute to Joe.

[savafan]

Just thinking out loud here...I made a proposition once on the name of "The Old Red Guard", and it was unanimously approved.

I'd like to see us do something here on Redszone to honor Joe. Maybe rename the "Non-Baseball Chatter" board to "The Old Lefthander's Bar & Grill"

Just a thought...

[Ron Madden]

Just thinking out loud here...I made a proposition once on the name of "The Old Red Guard", and it was unanimously approved.

I'd like to see us do something here on Redszone to honor Joe. Maybe rename the "Non-Baseball Chatter" board to "The Old Lefthander's Bar & Grill"

Just a thought...

Set'em up Joe. ;)

[Ravenlord]

Just thinking out loud here...I made a proposition once on the name of "The Old Red Guard", and it was unanimously approved.

I'd like to see us do something here on Redszone to honor Joe. Maybe rename the "Non-Baseball Chatter" board to "The Old Lefthander's Bar & Grill"

Just a thought...
i like that thought.

[WMR]

Just thinking out loud here...I made a proposition once on the name of "The Old Red Guard", and it was unanimously approved.

I'd like to see us do something here on Redszone to honor Joe. Maybe rename the "Non-Baseball Chatter" board to "The Old Lefthander's Bar & Grill"

Just a thought...

I think that would be swell.

[Yachtzee]

Just thinking out loud here...I made a proposition once on the name of "The Old Red Guard", and it was unanimously approved.

I'd like to see us do something here on Redszone to honor Joe. Maybe rename the "Non-Baseball Chatter" board to "The Old Lefthander's Bar & Grill"

Just a thought...

The Old Lefthander's Tomato Patch? Was it Marty or Joe who grew tomatoes? It was so long ago that they used to talk about it, but it was one of those non-baseball discussions they always had that I enjoyed because my grandfather loved to talk tomatoes too.

[Yachtzee]

I think "Joe" inside the wishbone "C" would make a great memorial patch for the next season.

http://www.redszone.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5114&d=1195323692

[MrCinatit]

It is depressing how much we take someone for granted while they are living, and find out how much we appreciate and miss them when they are gone.
Joe is one of those guys. I never met him, but man what I would have given to spend a few minutes with the man talking about what he loved so much, and what was his life - baseball.

I feel foolish for asking this, but was his number always 39, and is it (and should it be) retired? The only listing I found for his number was a reference to the '66 season, which is where I got 39 from.
A lot of me would like to see them retire his number, as he meant so much to the ball club. But a lot of me asks why it was not done before, when he was still with us.

[Matt700wlw]

Ft Washington Way should be renamed the Joe Nuxhall Highway....(Sloanie's idea, and a good one, wish I'd thought of it)...To those who are coming through our city and aren't from around here, it's still Route 50...but to everybody else, it's the Joe Nuxhall Highway. As you travel it, you can turn your head and see the sign "Rounding Third and Heading for Home"

Doesn't get any better than that

[Big Klu]

It is depressing how much we take someone for granted while they are living, and find out how much we appreciate and miss them when they are gone.
Joe is one of those guys. I never met him, but man what I would have given to spend a few minutes with the man talking about what he loved so much, and what was his life - baseball.

I feel foolish for asking this, but was his number always 39, and is it (and should it be) retired? The only listing I found for his number was a reference to the '66 season, which is where I got 39 from.
A lot of me would like to see them retire his number, as he meant so much to the ball club. But a lot of me asks why it was not done before, when he was still with us.

I'm pretty sure that he wore #43 when he played as a 15-year-old in 1944 (hence the number on the statue in front of GABP), then he wore #39 with the Reds from 1952 to 1960. After he returned to the Reds in 1962, he wore #41. I think this is how is was, but I'm not 100% sure. Anyway, I have always been a strong proponent for retiring Joe's number. I only wish it had been done sooner.

[redsmetz]

Ft Washington Way should be renamed the Joe Nuxhall Highway....(Sloanie's idea, and a good one, wish I'd thought of it)...To those who are coming through our city and aren't from around here, it's still Route 50...but to everybody else, it's the Joe Nuxhall Highway. As you travel it, you can turn your head and see the sign "Rounding Third and Heading for Home"

Doesn't get any better than that

Ft. Washington Way is also part of I-71, so I don't know if that impacts it or not (probably not), but I like this idea.

[marcshoe]

I'm pretty sure that he wore #43 when he played as a 15-year-old in 1944 (hence the number on the statue in front of GABP), then he wore #39 with the Reds from 1952 to 1960. After he returned to the Reds in 1962, he wore #41. I think this is how is was, but I'm not 100% sure. Anyway, I have always been a strong proponent for retiring Joe's number. I only wish it had been done sooner.

I remember that he wore #41 when he pitched batting practice in the seventies as well, until the Reds traded for some pitcher from the Mets who had a fondness for that number.

[Matt700wlw]

I remember that he wore #41 when he pitched batting practice in the seventies as well, until the Reds traded for some pitcher from the Mets who had a fondness for that number.

Yeah, who was that guy? :D

[Matt700wlw]

A look at the visitation...

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071120/VIDEO02/311200037&GID=C5/KiCvyLDTzZipja+CMrOnPPq0QiPf6TwUjxIRidIY&#37;3D

[Matt700wlw]

Photos from the visitation

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=AB&Dato=20071120&Kategori=SPT04&Lopenr=711200806&Ref=PH

[Team Clark]

Just got back from the visitation. The line was long but the photos, memories and stories from those in line made it all worth while. Joe looked great.

[Reds Nd2]

Baseball Almanac lists three different numbers for Joe. #43 during his debut with the Reds in 1944 and #39 every season afterwards except for the 1961. He wore #33 with the Royals.

An interesting historical note. Joe Nuxhall wasn't the only left hander to make his debut for the Reds on June 10, 1944. Jake Eisenhart faced two batters, walking one, in a third of an inning during the same game. He was released by the Reds fourteen days later and never pitched again. He was the ripe old age of 21 at the time.

[BoydsOfSummer]

That was quite a turnout, to say the least. I skipped a chemistry exam to be there and don't regret it.

[MrCinatit]

Thanks for the uniform number history lessons, guys - it would actually be tough for me to decide if they should retire his original 43 or oft used 39. Both might be kind of overboard.

The '44 Reds also had a rookie righty named Jim Konstanty, who went on to be the '50 MVP for the Phillies Whiz Kids team. If I recall correctly, he was one of two or three other players still active when Joe returned to baseball in '52 (I will have to look that up again when I am not getting ready for work).

[guttle11]

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but I just saw a Kroger commercial showing some clips of all the Marty and Joe Kroger ads with "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" playing.

Really nice tribute. I loved those ads growing up.

[Team Clark]

There were several pictures of Joe wearing #41 while a Red. They looked to be taken in the 60's.

[Cyclone792]

Thanks for the uniform number history lessons, guys - it would actually be tough for me to decide if they should retire his original 43 or oft used 39. Both might be kind of overboard.

I'd be very surprised if the Reds retired any of his numbers for two reasons. For one, I'd have thought they'd have gone ahead and retired his number already if they intended to actually do so. The team had known that Joe was in poor health for a few years, and if they were going to retire his number one would think they would have done it while he was still alive. They just retired Concepcion's number last season, and not long before that they retired Sparky's number.

Secondly, his number is a symbol mostly for his playing days and not so much his broadcast days. My guess is the Reds may want to try to find something more unique than retiring his number, something that would reflect the totality of his contributions to the Reds and would be entirely unique for him. Essentially, something even more meaningful than retiring his number.

I'm not really sure what that unique thing would be. The statue reflects his time on the mound and making history by being the youngest modern big league ballplayer, and his "Rounding third and heading for home" phrase reflects his time as a broadcaster (he also has the replica microphone on the facade underneath the booth along with Hoyt and Marty).

Maybe they should tell Carl Lindner and Great American to take a hike so they can name the ol' ball orchard after Joe.

Whatever happens, I do expect the Reds to do something for him soon, perhaps this season. Perhaps Redsfest could shed some light on anything that may happen.

[BoydsOfSummer]

Didn't they retire a microphone for him along with Hoyt and Marty?

[Matt700wlw]

Yes

[Matt700wlw]

At 11:07pm, they are showing a live shot on the news, and there are still people inside paying their respects to Joe.


....To me, that's not surprising.

I'm sure Joe is looking down in amazement right now.....all he did was be himself.

[redsfan4445]

and Joe's family have greeted every person that has come into pay their respects..That is awesome.. I also heard when Joe's body arrived at the high school the Reds players formed a precision for his casket to walk thru them like a honor guard.. that really touched my heart hearing that

[marcshoe]

Didn't they retire a microphone for him along with Hoyt and Marty?


I forgot about that.

[Big Klu]

Baseball Almanac lists three different numbers for Joe. #43 during his debut with the Reds in 1944 and #39 every season afterwards except for the 1961. He wore #33 with the Royals.

An interesting historical note. Joe Nuxhall wasn't the only left hander to make his debut for the Reds on June 10, 1944. Jake Eisenhart faced two batters, walking one, in a third of an inning during the same game. He was released by the Reds fourteen days later and never pitched again. He was the ripe old age of 21 at the time.


There were several pictures of Joe wearing #41 while a Red. They looked to be taken in the 60's.

I think Baseball Almanac is inaccurate in this case. As Team Clark said, there are several pictures of Joe from the 60's wearing #41.

[westofyou]

I think Baseball Almanac is inaccurate in this case. As Team Clark said, there are several pictures of Joe from the 60's wearing #41.

http://www.baseballminutia.com/images/nux_st.jpg

[Reds Nd2]

I think Baseball Almanac is inaccurate in this case. As Team Clark said, there are several pictures of Joe from the 60's wearing #41.
According to the 2007 Red's Media Guide, Joe shared #43 with Bill Lohrman in 1944. Joe wore #39 between '52-'60 and #41 between '62-'66. Tom Seaver was the next Reds player to wear #41 when he wore it during the seasons of '77-82. A hand full of players, and a couple of managers have worn it since. The latest being Jerry Narron.

[fearofpopvol1]

I think the Reds will retire his number and hope they do. The specifics of which number would need to be figured out, but I think Joe's earned it with his dedication to the organization.

[redsmetz]

I doubt they'll ask Great American Insurance to step aside on the name of the park since that is a revenue stream (I know, it's the way things are), but maybe they could call it Nuxhall Field at GABP (a mouthful, I know).

[Joseph]

I doubt they'll ask Great American Insurance to step aside on the name of the park since that is a revenue stream (I know, it's the way things are), but maybe they could call it Nuxhall Field at GABP (a mouthful, I know).

Cast apparently said no, that its no feasible.