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Joe Nuxhall: Baseball Loses One of Its Best
By Charlie O. Mallonee November 16, 2007 |
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The Ol’ Lefthander Is Finally Home Most of the stories about the death of Joe Nuxhall have emphasized his being the youngest person to have ever played professional baseball in the major leagues at 15- years old. Truly, a record will last forever. Other articles have emphasized his 37 years as a full-time announcer in the Reds radio booth. Nuxhall was not the kind of play-by-play man most teams are looking for today. He had a slow-paced, folksy style that matched the pace of the game. Joe was a fan who let other fans know what was happening in the ballgame. As one writer in Cincinnati writer put it, “Joe and Marty (Brennaman – Joe’s partner for 31 seasons) was the soundtrack of summer.” Nuxhall closed out every broadcast with this phrase, “It’s the Ol’ Lefthander … rounding third and heading for home.” On Thursday night at 79-years old, Joe Nuxhall rounded third for the final time. Joe and Me I encountered Joe Nuxhall personally twice in my life. Both times were memorable. The first time I crossed paths with Nuxie was in 1978 at Candlestick Park. Having grown up in Ohio as a Reds fan, I try see them play the Giants at least one time a year. I had taken my wife, 8-year old daughter and my brother to see the game. During batting practice, my daughter noticed the kids asking the players for baseballs. By the time she made her way down to the dugouts, the players had headed for the clubhouse to dress-out for the game. She came back to her seat disappointed. Early in the game, Johnny Bench slapped a ball to an infielder that took a sliver out of the bat he was using. After the Reds defeated the Giants, my daughter wanted to try asking a Reds player for a ball. If you know anything about Candlestick, you know that the visitor’s dugout had no access to the clubhouse. The visitors had to trek down to the right field corner to enter their clubhouse. The visitor’s dugout usually emptied out in about thirty seconds, so I knew her chance of getting something from a player was miniscule at best. With her Reds cap on, she went down along the fence and leaned over looking for someone to ask for a ball. Just as I was ready to tell her we needed to go, a big man in his early 50’s came walking toward the Reds dugout. I recognized him immediately. It was Joe Nuxhall. Nuxie stopped and looked at my daughter. He asked her if she was really a Reds fan. She replied, “I sure am. My Dad’s from Ohio and we root for the Reds!” The Ol’ Lefthander then asked my daughter if she would like something from the dugout. Well, you know the answer was yes and what Joe found for her was Bench’s bat. Joe Nuxhall made one little girl and her father very happy. That bat now is on the wall of my grandson’s baseball themed bedroom. My next encounter with Joe Nuxhall was seven years later. Candlestick Park was once again the venue. I was there covering the game as a member of the press. Before the game began, I went looking for Nuxie. My grandfather was a lifelong Reds fan. I grew up sitting on his back-porch listening to Waite Hoyt describe the play-by-play of many a Reds game. At 86, my grandpa still preferred to listen to the ballgame rather than watch it on TV. I knew there was a good chance that he would be listening to the game I was covering. One of the things Joe Nuxhall did during his innings was send greetings from fans at the game to fans that were listening on the radio. I talked with Joe and asked him to say hi to my grandpa during the broadcast. With a big smile on his face, the Ol’ Lefthander promised to pass along my greeting. The next morning, my dad called me from Ohio. My grandpa had called to say that Joe Nuxhall had said hi to him from me during the Reds game the night before. Nuxie had made two Reds fans very happy … again! The Man Will Be Missed In this day of big money and even bigger egos, Joe Nuxhall stood out as man who just loved the game. He never became bigger than the game, and he never took the fans for granted. Nuxie always tried to give back whenever possible. I selected the picture of him with the little girl for a reason. Nux loved kids, and they loved him. He was a family guy who was married to his wife for 60-years and raised two sons. Joe Nuxhall was a role model, and he never shied away from the responsibility. There is a statue of Joe Nuxhall at age 15 on the grounds of The Great American Ballpark. Since Thursday night, that statue has become a place for hundreds of fans to come and leave remembrances for the Ol’ Lefthander. So long Joe, I will miss you. |
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