Joe Nuxhall: The Old Lefthander & Me: My Conversations with Joe Nuxhall About the Reds, Baseball & Broadcasting

by John Kiesewetter

Beloved Cincinnati Reds pitcher and broadcaster Joe Nuxhall was the youngest player in Major League history. He started pitching for the Reds before he could get a driver's license. He was just 15. John Kiesewetter, longtime Cincinnati TV/media reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati Public Radio NPR affiliate WVXU-FM, and a lifelong Reds fan, become friends with his baseball hero while "The Old Lefthander" was doing Reds broadcasts with Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman. Kiesewetter's book is packed with behind-the-scenes stories of the epic pranks played by Brennaman and Nuxhall, the games they called that made baseball history, and the loveable, irrepressible personality of "Hamilton Joe" Nuxhall, who was the face and voice of the Reds for decades. Johnny Bench, Tom Browning, Jeff Brantley, Lou Piniella, Pete Rose, Marge Schott, Ted Kluszewski, Al Michaels and other legendary Reds personalities are all in the lineup for Kiesewetter's fascinating, humorous and entertaining book. Part of the proceeds from the book benefit the Nuxhall Foundation.

Genres: Baseball

298 pages, Paperback

Published September 8, 2021

Reviews

[Dan Darragh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A five-star book for Cincinnati Reds fans who have followed the team for years. Joe was the youngest player to play professional baseball when he signed with the Reds at age 15 in 1944 during when World War II depleted the rosters. He was with the Reds for over 60 years as a player and broadcaster. Joe and his "little buddy," Marty Brennaman, were together for 30 years and were such a summer tradition and entertaining pair that many Reds' followers almost felt like they knew them personally. Joe was a great story-teller and was a favorite speaker at events in the Cincinnati area. John Kiesewetter was a big Nuxhall fan going back to his early childhood and as a reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer interviewed "Nuxie" many times and fortunately recorded many of his conversations with him for this book. John also talked to Brennaman and many former Reds to paint a word portrait of this area icon.

[Chip Rickard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The phrase "National Treasure" is used quite a bit these days. Joe Nuxhall may not have been a National Treasure but he was certainly a local one. This book details why he was so beloved in Reds Country. Joe was not only a beloved broadcaster for the Reds, he was a humanitarian and, as Johnny Bench said, he was everybody's grandpa. He was a local icon but certainly didn't act like one. All this came through in this book. If you knew nothing about Joe before reading the book, you would come out of it feeling like he was all everyone said he was. I was happy Kiesewetter included the story about Joe getting into it with an umpire only to be pulled off by two teammates one of which was Billy Martin. I came across that story several years ago doing research on a different subject.

[Mike Kipfer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sure do miss the old lefthander ...