RIP Joe Nuxhall

[cincygreg]

An all around good guy and a big part of baseball history around here, he will be missed by many. My condolences to his family and friends.

Last Updated: 7:06 am | Friday, November 16, 2007
Nuxhall dies at 79


Hamilton native Joe Nuxhall, who as a 15-year-old in 1944 made history by pitching for the Reds and later became a fixture in the Reds radio booth, died at 10:55 p.m. Thursday night at Mercy Hospital-Fairfield. He was 79.

One of the most beloved figures in Cincinnati?s rich baseball history, Nuxhall was admitted to Mercy Hospital-Fairfield on Monday for pneumonia, a low pulse rate and low white blood count. Thursday morning, doctors postponed surgery to insert a pacemaker because of Nuxhall?s low pulse, his son Kim Nuxhall said.
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The Ol? Left-hander, as he came to be known to scores of Reds fans, spent six decades with the team as a player and radio broadcaster until retiring after the 2004 season. Working under a personal services contract with the Reds, he broadcast selected games during the 2007 season.

"He?s one of the greatest human beings I?ve ever met,? former Reds first baseman Sean Casey said in 2004. ?He?s humble. He always thinks of others first. I know he was a great pitcher and he?s done a lot of other things. But I think everything else is second to him being a great human being."

During a major league playing career that began in 1944 and ended after the 1966 season, Nuxhall appeared in 526 games with the Reds, Kansas City Athletics and Los Angeles Angels.

At 15 years, 10 months and 11 days old, he made his major league debut with the Reds on June 10, 1944 and pitched two-thirds of an inning in an 18-0 loss against the Cardinals. Signed to help fill out the Reds? roster during World War II, he remains the youngest player ever to appear in a Major League Baseball game in modern history.

Nuxhall returned to the Reds? roster in 1952, was an All-Star during the 1955 and 1956 seasons, and remained with the team until being traded to Kansas City before the 1961 season.

Nuxhall pitched in 37 games with the Athletics that year. The Orioles signed him as a free agent and released him before the 1962 season. Nuxhall quickly signed with the Angels only to be released by Los Angeles after five relief appearances in 1962.

Nuxhall rejoined the Reds shortly thereafter and pitched in 146 games for Cincinnati before retiring at age 37 in 1966. In all, he compiled a 130-109 record and a 3.80 ERA in 484 games with the Reds. In 1968 he was elected to the team?s Hall of Fame.

At the urging of former Reds general manager Bob Howsam and Wiedemann Brewing -- then a sponsor of the Reds radio broadcasts -- Nuxhall moved to the broadcast booth alongside Claude Sullivan and Jim McIntyre in 1967.

From behind the microphone in the Reds radio booth, Nuxhall witnessed and then shared some of the most pivotal moments in team history with his listeners.

He first teamed with Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman for the 1974 season and the pair remained inseparable for 31 seasons on the Reds radio network.

?(Partners) Jim McIntyre, Al Michaels and Marty helped me a lot,? Nuxhall said in 2002. ?I know they give me credit for helping them. But, brother, they helped me a lot. My English was pretty bad. I know it hasn?t improved a lot. But it has improved -- simply from working with those guys.?

The public grew to know, and treasure, Nuxhall over the airwaves.

In December 2003, before his final full season in the broadcast booth, and again in December 2006, Nuxhall was placed on the ballot for the Ford C. Frick Award. The National Baseball Hall of Fame gives the annual award to a broadcaster ?for major contributions to the game of baseball.?

?Joe is baseball in Cincinnati,? former Reds manager Sparky Anderson once said. ?For myself, personally, if he doesn?t go in the Hall of Fame, they shouldn?t have one.?

A 38-year run as one of the team?s primary radio announcers ended in October 2004, but Nuxhall had remained visible around the team and broadcast booth since then.

?I think the anticipation of semi-retirement is worse than the reality,? Phil Nuxhall, Joe?s eldest son, said in 2004. ?I think he?s going to be fine.

?He?s starting to realize we can take a family trip for the first time since we were kids. We can do things. We can go to a show or something. I think when that sets in, he?s going to be fine.?

An Ohio General Assembly resolution proclaimed Aug. 18, 2006 as ?Joe Nuxhall Day? across the state.

The longtime Fairfield resident was honored before the Reds? game against the Pirates that evening at Great American Ball Park.

A change in the team?s ownership structure before the 2006 season meant a higher profile for Nuxhall. Reds chief executive officer Bob Castellini made tapping into the team?s tradition a priority, and as a result Nuxhall was extended a personal services contract and broadcast selected games last season.

He worked alongside Marty Brennaman and his son Thom on Opening Day and, later in the season, broadcast from the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis. It was the 59th ballpark he had played in or broadcast a game, including each of the existing major league stadiums except the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Safeco Field in Seattle and Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Outside the gates of Great American Ball Park, on the Crosley Terrace, Nuxhall is one of four ?Crosley Field? era players immortalized with a bronze sculpture. The statue of Nuxhall was unveiled in July 2003.

?From the first day I walked on the field at spring training in Tampa, Joe was always there to help with whatever,? Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench said in 2004. ?He just oozed Reds baseball.?

Nuxhall had battled cancer and heart problems for several years. In 1992, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and suffered a heart attack in December 2001. In 2003, he underwent a 3?-hour surgery to remove a cancerous lump on the side of his face near his ear.

In May 2006, Nuxhall was admitted to Mercy Hospital-Fairfield to receive treatment for a lump on his tonsil and pneumonia in both lungs. The lump was a recurrence of the non-Hodgkin?s lymphoma first detected in September 2003.

He was released from the hospital after a seven-day stay and back at the ballpark soon after.

Nuxhall is survived by his wife of 60 years Donzetta, and two sons, Phil Nuxhall and Kim Nuxhall.

Already in statue form and having his famous close on the ballpark, he'll forever be a part of baseball down on the riverfront.

[Lew]

A few years back my brother and I attended a book-signing at the downtown library. We got to meet Joe and have him sign the book, I also got to speak wtih Greg Hoard (the co-author). And one of the things we talked about was how Joe was truly the last of a dying breed. I mean, you think about it, over 60 years with one organization, and a true ambassador at that.

They've changed the rules on age, so Joe's youth record will never be broken (not knowingly, anyway).

Second, so few players stay with one team these days (granted Joe did not play his entire career with the Reds, but the vast majority of it). And even a lot of the great announcers often played for one team and accounced for another (e.g. Waite Hoyt)

And even guys who did play their whole career with the Reds, like Johnny Bench and Barry Larkin, they don't do the things Joe did. And I'm not saying that as a negative against them, I'm just saying that a guy like Joe, who played for the Reds, who announced for the Reds, who promoted the Reds, who grew up in this area....it's so rare to find, and I just don't see it happening a whole lot in the future. The Yankees lost Phil Rizzutto earlier this year, he was like a Joe to them.

Apparently Cal Ripken still promotes the Orioles, and actually MLB has been using him to promote the game in general. But I wonder if 30 years from now he'll still be in that role? And he doesn't announce their games, you have to truly love the game (and have a lot of patience) to want that job.

I grew up in the 70s, I remember hanging out on my neighbor's back patio listening to Marty and Joe. For so many of us, their voices meant something (most of the time, much more interesting than the team itself).

He will be missed by so many around here, props to him for all of his many great years, and most definitely Rest in Peace.

[LanDroid]

Once again this year, fans have the opportunity to be a part of the process for selecting the 2008 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually to a baseball broadcaster for major contributions to the game.

Three of the 10 names on the final Frick Award ballot will be chosen by fans throughout the month of November. Select up to three (3) candidates from the ballot below. You may vote once each day during the month of November. The final 10-name ballot, featuring the three fan selections, will be announced on December 4, 2007. Click a name to see a brief biography of that broadcaster.

http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/aw..._2007/vote.jsp

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Vote daily. We want to hear Joe's name on 12/4/07!

[Sluggo]

I am not a sports fan by anyone's terms but I think Joe was a class act. Sports teams need many more like him. Unfortunately, there are VERY few around.

[Beachcomber]

Nice guy, I met him a couple of times at Forest Fair Mall as he lived nearby in Fairfield. He drove a really nice red Cadillac. Met Marty Brenamen once too at one of the nightspots across the river, can't remember which one. [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

[cincygreg]

In case you were wanting to attend...

If you're going to Nuxhall's visitation ...
Visitation today for Cincinnati Reds legend Joe Nuxhall is expected to be one of the largest memorial events in Butler County's history.

When: 4-8 p.m.

Where: Fairfield Senior High School, 8800 Holden Blvd. in Fairfield, just off Route 4 and across the street from Jungle Jim's.

Parking: There are 2,000 parking spaces on the school's campus. A dozen golf carts will travel around the lots offering rides to those needing help to the school building. Overflow parking will be directed to the large Jungle Jim's lot where shuttle buses will transport well-wishers to the school across the street.

Rules: No cameras or recording devices of any sort will be allowed in the gym. No autograph seeking from Cincinnati Reds or other baseball stars will be allowed.

[Lew]

Gae-

The idea you expressed about how some people don't get the respect they deserve until they pass away....that's certainly true in many cases.

But I must respectfully disagree with you regarding Joe. I think the fans and media here did show love for him while he was alive. The day I went and saw him at the public library, I think it was a Saturday afternoon and the place was packed. He told stories, answered questions, and then we all got in line to have him sign his book. People were getting their picture taken with him, everyone was polite, he seemed to be genuine in enjoying it. And he did a lot of those types of appearances.

When the Reds tried to cut him out of the radio altogether, the fans made it clear that they disagreed. And I thought it was a great touch that they put his saying on the outside of the stadium (if their reasons for not displaying Marty's were the lamest excuse ever). Plus the statue of him outside the entrance to the stadium, I think the fans' appreciation for him was definitely conveyed to him during his lifetime.

Look, no one is saying he was a god who walked among mortals or anything like that. But the fact remains, when you look at sports today and you think about how the dreadful things and disgraceful people- steroids, Scott Boras, Mike Tyson, Barry Bonds, the Patriots, coaches not honoring their contracts, corporate sponsorship, ESPN, Duke, gambling, drugs, Jim Tressel's sweater vest......I mean, we get all that crap on a nightly basis.

But there will always be a "market," if you will, for guys like Joe. And this isn't true for just sports, it's true in everything. There is a market for the good guys. I've lived here all my life and I've never heard anyone say anything bad about Joe. Now maybe he snowballed us; maybe he moonlighted in the white slave trade and sold drugs to kids in south Hamilton, but somehow I doubt it. He was good guy who the fans loved and they just wanted to show it.

[Lew]

To follow-up, I just read in the Enquirer where my point is proven (yet again)....

Reds CEO Bob Castellini said recent suggestions that the field at Great American Ball Park be renamed in honor of Nuxhall are "just not practical, for many reasons."

"But Joe will not be forgotten by the Reds," Castellini said. "We will make sure he is honored. His story will go on in this franchise for 500 years."

In other words, our corporate sponsorship arrangement won't allow this to happen. Nor would we want it to, because there's no way to whore off of "Joe Nuxhall Field." (and for the record, they weren't asking the stadium to be renamed, only that the field be named in his honor).

Let's build our corporate stadium and raise ticket prices and have all these BS promotions to cover-up the fact that we have a losing team and are going to have one for a long time.

You know what? F- major sports today. No, I'm serious- Castellini, Mike Brown, all of you.....F yourselves. I think I'm going to start a drive to support that chick roller derby team that plays at the Gardens, maybe build them up into THE sport around here (well, that, and of course St. X football, well on its way to another state championship)

[gae]

Can we -- we as a city, as a nation, as a society -- please STOP?

I'm not a baseball fan, but I'm sure Mr. Knurhall's death was quite a blow to those who follow the game.

However, the man was terminally ill. (From birth, we allare, but that's another thread.)

Why didn't talk and sports radio give some time to him before his death, while he lingered in the hosptial so he could enojoy some the the momories he made? Too moribid? Better to wait until he's gone?

[cincygreg]

As I stated above, the ballpark has his tag line in lights along the side "rounding third and heading for home" and there is a statue out front of him as well. I think they should devote a part of the reds museum to him in tribute.