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Nuxhall, Youngest To Play In Majors, Dies

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By TERRY KINNEY The Associated Press

Published: November 17, 2007

CINCINNATI - Joe Nuxhall, the youngest major-leaguer at age 15 and later a beloved broadcaster as "the ol' left-hander" in Cincinnati, has died. He was 79.

Nuxhall died Thursday night while hospitalized for treatment of pneumonia, the team said. He was awaiting surgery to insert a pacemaker, and had been slowed by a recurrence of cancer since September.

Brought up by Cincinnati to pitch during World War II - just out of junior high classes, he unraveled at the sight of Stan Musial in the on-deck circle - Nuxhall worked more than six decades for the Reds. He continued to pitch batting practice into the 1980s and was a member of the team's Hall of Fame.

While he won 135 games, it was on the radio where he became best known. On a franchise filled with Hall of Fame players and big personalities, Nuxhall might have been the most popular.

"This is a sad day for everyone in the Reds organization," outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. said in a statement. "He did so many great things for so many people. You never heard anyone ever say a bad word about him. We're all going to miss him."

Reds owner Bob Castellini on Friday said Nuxhall "exemplified everything baseball's all about, from the mound to the broadcast booth."
Great American Ball Park was to be dark Friday night in Nuxhall's honor, except for spotlights shining on his statue outside the main gate. Also to be illuminated were the big red words of his radio signoff, emblazoned outside the stadium: "... rounding third and heading for home."

"Summer nights in Cincinnati will never be the same again without the voice of the ol' left-hander crackling over the airwaves," U.S. Rep. John Boehner of Ohio said in a statement. "To millions, even those who never met Joe in person, his voice was the voice of a good friend."

Nuxhall's son, Kim, released a statement thanking the public for the many cards and messages sent to his father.

"Dad felt that he truly had three extended families during his career - the great city of Hamilton, where he grew up; Fairfield, where he raised his children; and Cincinnati, where he was able to play and broadcast the great game of baseball with the Cincinnati Reds," Kim Nuxhall said.

"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."

Nuxhall retired as a full-time radio broadcaster after the 2004 season, the 60th anniversary of his historic pitching debut. Since then, he was heavily involved in charity work, especially his scholarship and character education programs.

He had surgery for prostate cancer in 1992, followed by a mild heart attack in 2001. The cancer returned in February, when he was preparing for spring training in Sarasota.

Nuxhall called some games last season even though his left leg was swollen by tumors.

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