Joe Nuxhall

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Joe Nuxhall
Joe Nuxhall
Pitcher
Born: July 30, 1928(1928-07-30)
Hamilton, Ohio
Died: November 15, 2007 (aged 79)
Fairfield, Ohio
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
June 10, 1944
for the Cincinnati Reds
Final game
October 2, 1966
for the Cincinnati Reds
Career statistics
Win-Loss record     135-117
Earned run average     3.90
Strikeouts     1,372
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Joseph Henry Nuxhall (July 30, 1928 – November 15, 2007) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Cincinnati Reds. He held the team's record for career games pitched (484) from 1965 to 1975, and still holds the team mark for lefthanders, though he was long most remembered for having been the youngest player ever to appear in a major league game in the modern era, pitching 2/3 of an inning for the Reds on June 10, 1944 at the age of &0000000000000015.00000015 years, &0000000000000316.000000316 days due to player shortages during World War II. Long known as "The Ol' Lefthander," he compiled a career earned run average of 3.90 and a record of 135-117 during his 16-season career, with all but 5 of his victories being earned with the Reds. After retiring as a player, he became a broadcaster for the Reds from 1967 through 2004. Nuxhall died in 2007 after a long bout with cancer.

Contents

[edit] Wartime roster

Nuxhall was born and raised in Hamilton, Ohio. During World War II, many regular baseball players were unavailable while serving in the military. Meanwhile, Nuxhall was the biggest member of the ninth grade class in nearby Hamilton, Ohio at 6' 2" and 190 pounds -- a left-hander with a hard fastball, but not much control. He had already been playing in a semipro league with his father for a few years. Scouts looking to fill out the Reds' depleted roster were following Orville Nuxhall, Joe's father, in 1943. But they were informed that the elder Nuxhall wasn't interested in signing a professional contract because of his five children. The scouts then became interested in the son, who was only 14 at the time. After waiting until the following year's basketball season was over, Nuxhall signed a major league contract with the Reds on February 18, 1944. General manager Warren Giles intended to wait until school was over in June to add him to the team, but more of his players were inducted into the service in the spring. With permission from his high school principal, Nuxhall was in uniform with the team on Opening Day.

[edit] Teenage debut

“ I was pitching against seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders, kids 13 and 14 years old... All of a sudden, I look up and there's Stan Musial and the likes. It was a very scary situation.[1] ”

On June 10, the Reds were playing the first place St. Louis Cardinals at Crosley Field and trailing 13-0 in the ninth inning when Manager Bill McKechnie called on Nuxhall to enter the game. He started well, retiring the first batter he faced, Cardinals shortstop George Fallon, on a groundout. But he was unable to get out of the inning, yielding five walks, two hits, one wild pitch and five runs before being relieved. He spent the rest of the 1944 season in the minor leagues. But unlike Jake Eisenhart, who made his debut for the Reds the same day and got the last out of the frame, Nuxhall would return to pitch in the majors.

Nuxhall remains the youngest person to play in a major league game in the modern era (since 1901). In 1887, 14-year-old Fred Chapman pitched five innings in one game, and is the youngest-ever participant in major league history.

[edit] Minor leagues

Following his appearance with the Reds, he was assigned to the Birmingham Barons in the Southern League, but pitched only a third of an inning there (he struck out his first batter, then allowed a hit, five walks, a hit batter and five runs). Nuxhall attended spring training with the Reds in 1945, but decided to remain home until he finished high school the following year. He regained his amateur status and played football, basketball and baseball for Hamilton High School as a senior in 1946, earning all-state honors in football and basketball. Over the next five years, Nuxhall played in the minor leagues with Syracuse, Lima, Muncie, Columbia, Charleston, and Tulsa before returning to the Reds in 1952.

[edit] Return to "The Show"

Statue of Joe Nuxhall at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati
Statue of Joe Nuxhall at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati

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 1955. He also played for the Kansas City Athletics and Los Angeles Angels in the American League before returning to the Reds. In 1965 he broke Eppa Rixey's team record of 440 games pitched; his final mark of 484 stood until Clay Carroll surpassed it in 1975.

[edit] Second career

Nuxhall retired from the Reds in April 1967 and 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 lefthander, rounding third and heading for home" - is displayed on the outside of the Reds' stadium, Great American Ball Park, which opened in 2003. 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 1968, and officially retired from the Reds on October 3, 2004, 60 years after his pitching debut, though he still made guest appearances on some game broadcasts. Also, for many years after retiring as a player and during his broadcasting career, Nuxhall pitched batting practice for the Reds.

On June 10, 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 will be honored throughout the 2008 baseball season - their uniforms will 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 of 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 that make major contributions to the game of baseball. Of more than 122,000 online ballots cast by fans, Nuxhall received an astounding 82,304 votes.[2] However, despite this incredible show of fan support, it was announced on February 19, 2008 that the Frick election committee had voted not in favor of Nuxhall, but instead to the voice of the Seattle Mariners, Dave Niehaus.[3]

[edit] His book and character education fund

In September 2004, Orange Frazer Press released Joe: Rounding Third & Heading for Home.[4] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 Reds' the bull pen.

[edit] References

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Nuxhall, a fixture on the Reds' scene for more than 60 years, dies at 79
  2. ^ National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: Hall of Fame News
  3. ^ Joe Nuxhall Fails To Earn Ford C. Frick Award - :: Cincinnati news story :: LOCAL 12 WKRC-TV in Cincinnati
  4. ^ ISBN 1-882203-37-2

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Nuxhall"
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