Joe Nuxhall

This past summer I was lucky enough to attend the Reds' game which included a pre-game ceremony honoring three of Cincinnati's great broadcasters: Marty Brennaman, Waite Hoyt, and Joe Nuxhall. There were speeches, hugs, and much applause, but the thing that got me was the replaying of some of their famous calls of Reds' moments. Baseball has been a part of my life as long as I can remember, and Marty and Joe were the ones to send the Reds action (or lack thereof) through my radio.

Marty was, and still is, the professional announcer while Joe was the old left-hander (and the youngest any hander ever in the big leagues), your unabashed homer in the Reds' radio booth...

In the days before 24 hour sports coverage on dozens of cable channels, if we weren't actually at the ballgame Marty and Joe were our connection to the Reds. In fact, many people chose to bring their radios to the ballpark to listen while watching the action live...

Joe Nuxhall passed away Thursday evening, and while we may never hear the old left-hander "Rounding third and heading for home" again, we will always remember the summer days and nights when he brought home all the joys and frustrations of Reds baseball. From all of us in Reds country, good night Joe.

To read more about how Joe touched us all, go here.