Longtime broadcaster and Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame pitcher Joe Nuxhall died at 10:55 p.m. Thursday night at Mercy Hospital Fairfield.

He was 79-years-old and had been diagnosed with lymphoma, and had recently been fighting pneumonia. He was waiting to have a pacemaker put into his heart.

He was the youngest player in Major League History, making his debut at age 15 in 1944.

Nuxhall faced many battles on the mound during his 16-year playing career, but none of those battles were as trying as his multiple bouts with cancer.

On Friday morning, tributes began forming at Nuxhall's statue at Great American Ballpark. Some brought flowers, others brought baseball memorabilia, one with the words, "Joe Rounded Third And Headed To Heaven."

Earlier this week, fans joined officials in Butler County, rallying support to get the Old Lefthander into the Hall of Fame.

Norton Advertising put up a billboard, urging fans to give him a boost by going to the website, HOFJoe.com.

Funeral arrangements are pending, but WCPO.com will post them as they become available.<hr>John Popovich Remembers Joe

Joe Nuxhall made his fame by playing baseball, but he made his name by talking about it.Nuxhall went from baseball oddity to becoming Cincinnati's most comfortable companion.You could call him "Hamilton Joe", "Nuxy" or the "Ol' Lefthander;" people instantly knew who you were talking about.He was the big-boned 15-year-old who the Reds took a look at during World War II.He became the youngest big leaguer ever who was put into pitch against the talented Cardinals and got lit up.Yet he did get back to the bigs, where he won 135 games.He went from the mound to the announce booth when Marty Brenneman was paired with Joe in 1974, and it was improbable magic. One was slick, the other was salty; one was city, the other was country; one was smooth, the other often mangled the language.They weren't at all alike, but it worked like few announce teams ever have it was more than a baseball game.It was an easy conversation between friends-what they had done, who they had seen, their likes and dislikes. They shared it all with us and made us laugh, and sometimes made us jump out of our seats.A tribute was emblazoned outside the Reds new park, where a statue of Joe still greets the fans. And it's perfectly appropriate, as he loved being at the park.If there was batting practice to be thrown, he threw it;if there was an old-timers game to be played, Joe was playing and swinging away. And he was never far from his roots: a street in Hamilton still bears his name.In the winter of 2007, he was honored at his high school for his basketball heroics. (who knew that Joe was Ohio's top basketball player?)He was a public figure, and he knew his sports. Pete Rose once called Joe "the most competitive person [I] ever knew," and he was a fighter in every way.After 2004, Joe's announcing schedule was scaled back. We later learned it wasn't his idea.Reds fans soon found that they missed Joe in the booth. No more chuckles with Marty, no more of those hits to right left field.No more friendly banter on a warm summer night.Now, we'll miss him more than ever.

<hr> Joseph Henry Nuxhall Born July 30, 1928 in Hamilton, OH
Position: Pitcher
The youngest player to reach the majors in the 1900's (15 years, 10 months, and 11 days old)
Signed to the Reds in 1944, again in 1952, played with the A's and the Angels
Nuxhall retired just before Opening Day 1967

 

I'm going to miss him on the big one 700WLW. Him and Marty make my work day go by that much better and faster.