Joe Nuxhall
Joseph Henry Nuxhall (born July 30, 1928 in Hamilton, Ohio; died November 15, 2007 in Fairfield, Ohio) was a long-time pitcher and broadcaster for the Cincinnati Reds, notable for having been the youngest person to take the mound in a major league game (after which he suited up for one more game with the 1944 Birmingham Barons before deciding to return to high school.
Nuxhall pitched in a team-record 484 games for Cincinnati and broadcast Reds games for 40 years. His major league career stats were 135 wins, 117 losses and a 3.90 ERA over 15 seasons.
Nuxhall died in 2007 after a long battle with cancer.
Early life and professional debut
Nuxhall was one of five children born to Orville Nuxhall of Hamilton, Ohio. With the Reds' roster depleted by players serving in World War II, scouts began looking at Orville's semi-pro performances. When he declined a contract, they began considering his son, Joe, who at 14 years old was already a 6'-2" tall, 190 pound lefty who could throw a hard fastball. Joe signed his contract on February 18, 1944, after the end of his high-school basketball season. He was given permission from his high school principal to join the team for opening day of the 1944 season. He made his first appearance on the mound while the Reds were trailing 13-0 against the first-place St Louis Cardinals at home at Crosley Field. He faced shortstop George Fallon, and got his first out on a ground ball. After that he gave up five walks and two hits, advanced a runner on a wild pitch, and allowed five runs before he was relieved. His one out and five runs allowed in 1/3 inning gave him an ERA of 62.50. He was immediately sent to Birmingham to work on his control.
As a Baron, Nuxhall made one appearance, again for a third of an inning. This time he struck out his first batter, but then allowed five walks, a hit, and five runs to match his major league ERA. He stayed on the bench for the remainder of the season, then reported to spring training in 1945 before deciding that he was better off finishing high school. Having regained amateur status he earned all-state honors in football and basketball. After graduating he returned to the Reds organization, appearing with the Syracuse , Lima, Muncie, Columbia, Charleson, and Tulsa , before rejoining the Reds team in 1952.
Return to "The Show"
Nuxhall spent almost 15 of his 16 major league seasons with Cincinnati, where he was a two-time National League All-Star and led the league in shutouts in Template:By. He also played for the Kansas City Athletics and Los Angeles Angels in the American League before returning to the Reds. In Template:By he broke Eppa Rixey's team record of 440 games pitched; his final mark of 484 stood until Clay Carroll surpassed it in Template:By.
Second career
Nuxhall retired from the Reds in April Template:By and under the guidance of Hamilton sports broadcaster, Ray Motley, immediately began his second career as a Reds broadcaster despite his lack of broadcasting experience.
Part of his trademark radio signoff phrase - "This is the old left-hander, rounding third and heading for home" - is displayed on the outside of the Reds' stadium, Great American Ball Park, which opened in Template:By. A likeness of Nuxhall (see photo) is one of four statues that decorate the main entrance of the stadium. He was elected to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in Template:By, and officially retired from the Reds on October 3, Template:By, 60 years after his pitching debut, though he still made guest appearances on some game broadcasts. For many years after retiring as a player and during his broadcasting career, Nuxhall pitched batting practice for the Reds.
On June 6, 2007, the Reds honored Nuxhall, Marty Brennaman, and Waite Hoyt with replica microphones that hang on the wall near the radio booth. At Redsfest in December, 2007 the Reds announced Nuxhall would be honored throughout the 2008 baseball season - their uniforms would display a dark patch with the word "NUXY" printed in white. On March 31, 2008 the Cincinnati Reds paid tribute to Nuxhall by wearing his #41 jersey for opening day.
In December 2007, Nuxhall was named as one of the ten finalists for the National Baseball Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award, an honor bestowed annually on broadcasters who make major contributions to the game of baseball. Of more than 122,000 online ballots cast by fans, Nuxhall received 82,304 votes.<ref>National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: Hall of Fame News</ref> Despite this show of support, it was announced on February 19, 2008 that the Frick election committee had voted in favor of the voice of the Seattle Mariners, Dave Niehaus.<ref>Joe Nuxhall Fails To Earn Ford C. Frick Award - :: Cincinnati news story :: LOCAL 12 WKRC-TV in Cincinnati</ref>
His book and character education fund
In September 2004, Orange Frazer Press released Joe: Rounding Third & Heading for Home.<ref>ISBN 1-882203-37-2</ref> A portion of the proceeds from the book benefits the Joe Nuxhall Character Education Fund, which was established in 2003 to underwrite character development programs and projects for children.
Community remembrance
In the days following Nuxhall's death, several radio stations in the Cincinnati area devoted shows to him, and fans left cards, flowers and banners at the statue of Nuxhall at Great American Ball Park. A public visitation ceremony was attended by thousands of fans and several local and national sports and broadcasting personalities. At his visitation held at Fairfield High School (Fairfield, Ohio), an estimated 6,000 people showed up to pay their respects to Nuxhall and the Nuxhall family.
2008 Opening Day Memorial
The Reds remembered Nuxhall on their 2008 Opening Day. Players wore an alternate jersey during their introductions, which bore the number 41 and Nuxhall's name on the back. Aaron Harang, who usually wears the number 39 jersey, was allowed by MLB to wear the number 41 jersey with Nuxhall's name for the entire game. Nuxhall's number 41 was honored by the team displaying it in left-center field over the Reds' bull pen. Reds players wore patches with "Nuxy" and his number 41 on them as a tribute.
References
- Bob Rathgeber (1982). Cincinnati Reds Scrapbook. JCP Corp. of Virginia. ISBN 0-938694-05-7
- Lonnie Wheeler and John Baskin (1988). The Cincinnati Game. Orange Frazer Press. ISBN 0-9619637-1-9
- Rick Van Blair (1994). Dugout to Foxhole: Interviews with Baseball Players Whose Careers Were Affected by World War II. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0017-X
- Greg Rhodes and John Snyder (2000). Redleg Journal: Year by Year and Day by Day with the Cincinnati Reds Since 1866. Road West Publishing. ISBN 0-9641402-5-X