Nuxhall Leaves Rich Legacy behind
Ol' Lefthander Enjoyed Widespread Popularity with Cincinnati
The death of Joe Nuxhall in November of 2007 at age 79 marked the end of an era in Cincinnati Reds’ history.
Actually, it might be said that it signified the close of two eras, for Nuxhall seemed to transcend time in his 63-year association with the Reds.
Through the years, he became known to generations of fans, first as the youngest player ever to participate in a major league game in modern history, and then as the steady color analyst in the radio broadcast booth.
Through it all, Nuxhall endeared himself to people far beyond Cincinnati. The affable Ol’ Lefthander, as he was affectingly known, would regal listeners with stories borne out of his nearly lifelong affiliation with the sport.
Perhaps the greatest story of all was the one that had Nuxhall create history on June 10, 1944, when he became the youngest player in modern history at 15 years, 10 months, 11 days old.
Nuxhall, a strapping teen-ager at 6-foot-3, was signed to fill out the Reds' World War II roster. He didn’t do so well in his major league debut, a fact that he didn’t mind recalling time and again for those always eager to hear what he had to say.
Nuxhall pitched two-thirds of an inning against the St. Louis Cardinals, and he unraveled at the site of future Hall-of-Famer Stan Musial in the on-deck circle. Of course, there was no great shame in that. Numerous pitchers fell apart at seeing Musial about to come to the plate.
Nuxhall started well enough, walking one and retiring two before Musial came to bat. Musial laced a line-drive single, and the Cardinals proceeded to score five runs and come away with an 18-0 victory. Nuxhall didn’t record another out and left having walked five and thrown a wild pitch.
He was sent to the minors but returned to the Reds in 1952 with much more successful results. He was an All-Star in 1955 and 1956, and although he later briefly played with the Kansas City Athletics and Los Angeles Angels, most of his career was spent with the Reds until he retired in 1966.
Nuxhall compiled a 130-109 record with a 3.80 earned run average in 484 games with the Reds and was elected to their Hall of Fame in 1968.
Nuxhall made his way into the radio broadcast booth in 1967 alongside Claude Sullivan and Jim McIntyre. Nuxhall was an immediate hit but became even more widely popular when Marty Brennaman became the play-by-play announcer in 1974.
Listeners almost considered Nuxhall and Brennaman family as they learned about the lives of Nuxhall and Brennaman beyond baseball. The two never lost sight of the game, though, and were a worthy tandem to note some of the greatest achievements in franchise history, including the feats of the Big Red Machine.
Nuxhall retired as a full-time radio broadcaster after the 2004 season and the 60th anniversary of his history entrance into the record books as a young pitcher.
The voice has been silenced now, but the memory of what Nuxhall meant to the Reds, and to the game, itself, will live on forever.
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