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Longtime broadcaster and Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame pitcher Joe Nuxhall died at 10:55 p.m. Thursday night at Mercy Hospital Fairfield.
He was 79-years-old and had been diagnosed with lymphoma, and had recently been fighting pneumonia. He was waiting to have a pacemaker put into his heart.
He was the youngest player in Major League History, making his debut at age 15 in 1944.
Nuxhall faced many battles on the mound during his 16-year playing career, but none of those battles were as trying as his multiple bouts with cancer.
On Friday morning, tributes began forming at Nuxhall's statue at Great American Ballpark. Some brought flowers, others brought baseball memorabilia, one with the words, "Joe Rounded Third And Headed To Heaven."
Earlier this week, fans joined officials in Butler County, rallying support to get the Old Lefthander into the Hall of Fame.
Norton Advertising put up a billboard, urging fans to give him a boost by going to the website,
HOFJoe.com. A public memorial service for Joe Nuxhall has been set for Tuesday from 4-8 p.m. at Fairfield High School arena. A private funeral will be held Wednesday.
In leiu of flowers, please make donations to the Joe Nuxhall Hope Project, c/o Fairfield Community Foundation, 5350 Pleasant Avenue, Fairfield, Ohio, 45014.
John Popovich Remembers Joe Joe Nuxhall made his fame by playing baseball, but he made his name by talking about it.
Nuxhall went from baseball oddity to becoming Cincinnati's most comfortable companion.
You could call him "Hamilton Joe", "Nuxy" or the "Ol' Lefthander;" people instantly knew who you were talking about.
He was the big-boned 15-year-old who the Reds took a look at during World War II.
He became the youngest big leaguer ever who was put into pitch against the talented Cardinals and got lit up.
Yet he did get back to the bigs, where he won 135 games.
He went from the mound to the announce booth when Marty Brenneman was paired with Joe in 1974, and it was improbable magic. One was slick, the other was salty; one was city, the other was country; one was smooth, the other often mangled the language.
They weren't at all alike, but it worked like few announce teams ever have it was more than a baseball game.
It was an easy conversation between friends-what they had done, who they had seen, their likes and dislikes. They shared it all with us and made us laugh, and sometimes made us jump out of our seats.
A tribute was emblazoned outside the Reds new park, where a statue of Joe still greets the fans. And it's perfectly appropriate, as he loved being at the park.
If there was batting practice to be thrown, he threw it;if there was an old-timers game to be played, Joe was playing and swinging away. And he was never far from his roots: a street in Hamilton still bears his name.
In the winter of 2007, he was honored at his high school for his basketball heroics. (who knew that Joe was Ohio's top basketball player?)
He was a public figure, and he knew his sports.
Pete Rose once called Joe "the most competitive person [I] ever knew," and he was a fighter in every way.
After 2004, Joe's announcing schedule was scaled back. We later learned it wasn't his idea.
Reds fans soon found that they missed Joe in the booth. No more chuckles with Marty, no more of those hits to right left field.
No more friendly banter on a warm summer night.
Now, we'll miss him more than ever.
Statement from 700WLW As the longtime flagship radio station of the Cincinnati Reds, 700WLW is deeply saddened by the death of Joe Nuxhall.
Joe’s on-air color commentary was the perfect accent to longtime broadcast partner, Marty Brennaman. But, Joe was much more than that. He was a family-man, a philanthropist, and a friend. Joe was also a Cincinnati Reds fan...just like us.
700WLW V.P. Market Manager (Clear Channel Cincinnati), Chuck Fredrick, expressed his condolences, saying, “When Joe called a game, even listeners outside the ballpark could smell the popcorn, and taste the hot dogs. Joe will be dearly missed. Our deepest sympathies to the Nuxhall family.”
700WLW’s Operations Manager, Darryl Parks, describes Joe as, “Cincinnati’s Grandpa,” saying, “The Tri-State has lost a member of its family.”
700WLW Reds broadcast engineer, and Nuxhall family friend, Bill Dennison added, “The Lord got himself a good left-hander.”
Rounding third, and heading for home. Good night, Joe. We miss you already.
Statement from the Cincinnati Bengals President Mike Brown
“On behalf of everyone in the Bengals organization, I want to express our deepest sympathy to all who were close to Joe Nuxhall. We recognize Joe’s immense contributions not only to the Cincinnati Reds, but to the overall sports scene in the Tri-State area. Joe was a true sports icon in our region, someone who never lost his zeal for the best ideals of his sport. We know that millions of fans will miss him dearly, but his spirit will live on for many years.”
Joseph Henry Nuxhall Born July 30, 1928 in Hamilton, OH Position: Pitcher The youngest player to reach the majors in the 1900's (15 years, 10 months, and 11 days old) Signed to the Reds in 1944, again in 1952, played with the A's and the Angels Nuxhall retired just before Opening Day 1967
