Rounding Third....

Joe Nuxhall passed away last night. And upon hearing the news, a bit of me passed away too. Joe had been broadcasting Reds games since 1968, when I was seven years old. I remember listening to Dodgers games late at night with my earpiece in the transistor radio. I remember the long pauses, the folksy humor, and the genuine love for the game of baseball.

Joe was from Hamilton, but lived in my hometown of Fairfield when I was growing up. It was always exciting to run into him around town. He owned one of the first batting cages in the area, at Joyce Park in Fairfield. I got to work there a little bit collecting balls. Joe was Hamilton's greatest ambassador and one of the few people in the world that everyone seemed to genuinely like.

In 1996, my band was in Lakeland, Florida, to do a concert right next to the Tigers Spring Training field. After our sound check, we wanted to go see the Reds play the Tigers but we did not have a lot of extra money. So I told the guys I could get us in free of charge. We drove the tour bus over to the front gate. At this point, I really had no plan.

We were supposed to play a concert after a Reds game later in the summer. So I walked up the gate and asked to speak to the ticket manager. I said, "We are Frazier River and we are supposed to do a promo for a concert with Marty and Joe up in the Reds booth. The guy believed me and just opened up the gate and let us inside. But then, he asked one of the ushers to escort us up to the Reds broadcast booth.

Chuck Adair, our guitar player, said, "Greg, I think you are supposed to do that promo by yourself." I was hung out to dry. The usher escorted the band to some good seats down by the Reds dugout. The band was all laughing because they knew I was in trouble. The usher took me up several flights of stairs toward Marty and Joe. I was sweating bullets.

Dave "The Yid Man" Armbruster was outside the Reds booth. I introduced myself as Greg Amburgy from The Frazier River Band. To my utter shock and amazement, Dave said, "That is great. We are doing a promo for your concert during the next inning. Could you go in and do it live with Marty and Joe?" I simply said, "That's what I'm here for."

They took me into the broadcast booth and introduced me to Marty and Joe. I was standing behind them. The guys in the band could see me from their seats. I held up two fists in the air as if to say, "No guts, no glory". I got to stay in there for two innings just talking about the band and growing up a Reds fan in Fairfield. My mother in law, who was very sick at the time, heard me on the air and could not believe it. She was a die-hard Reds fan her whole life. She could not believe she was hearing get-well wishes from Marty and Joe on WLW.

It was one of the most fun hours of my entire life. Joe was so gracious and unassuming. A few months ago, I got to hear Joe and Thom Brennamann call one last game. I sat at my desk and soaked it all in, thinking that I may not get to hear Joe do this very many more times. It turned out to be the last game I heard Joe call.

Joe Nuxhall will be missed by those who knew him well and those of us that only had a few brushes with him. He was Reds baseball. He was Hamilton. He will always be the Old Left Hander, Rounding Third and Heading for Home. God bless Joe.