Rest in Peace, Joe Nuxhall
Forgive me a momentary digression to something even more provincial than my ramblings on Derrick Rose or the Memphis Grizzlies.
Joe Nuxhall, forever to be associated with the Cincinnati Reds, passed away overnite at the age of 79.
To fans of baseball outside of Reds zealots, he is probably best known as the answer to the trivia question: "Youngest person ever to play in a major league game?" (He was 15 for his one-game debut during WWII. He returned years later to have a decent career as a pitcher.)
But he will be remembered by the masses of Reds fans not for his playing career, but for his broadcasting years with Marty Brennamen. Back before Brennamen turned bitter, and back before age slowed Nuxhall down, those two created baseball broadcasts that enriched lives. Weird to say, but the truth.
The earliest I remember listening to Reds games was in the summer of 1975 when I was four. I started sneaking a radio to bed that same summer, to listen to games in secret past my bed-time. More nights than I can begin to recall, it was Joe's voice calling a game out west that was the last thing I heard before drifting off.
Nuxhall was never one of the giants of the broadcast game nationally, but within the Reds community, he was irreplaceable. His stepping back in duties a few years ago seemed to take some of the checks off of Brennamen (for the worse). His style of gentle rooting for the team on the air has proved impossible to fill. There was nothing better than hearing a Brennamen homerun call, his voice steadily growing with anticipation, while in the background Nuxhall would be hollering "Get there, get there, get there" or something equivalent like the pure fan he was. Probably annoying as hell to out of town fans. Pure goodness to Reds fans.
Nuxhall's closing line, delivered as he would sign off after the Star of the Game segment for 30 years was "This is the old left-hander, rounding third and heading for home. Good night everybody." I will remember that line and the tenor to his voice as he would deliver it for the rest of my life. He will be missed.
At any rate, for what it's worth, a simple thanks to Nuxhall, for doing so much to infuse my life with good memories for the last 30+ years. It was always and still is, much appreciated. Peace, Joe.
