Joe Nuxhall named Ford C. Frick Award finalist

Former pitcher and beloved Reds broadcaster Joe Nuxhall has been named one of the ten finalists for the 2015 Ford C. Frick Award.  The award is given anually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame to a broadcaster who has made "major contributions to baseball."

Besides Nuxhall, the ten finalists include Richie Ashburn, Billy Berroa, Rene Cardenas, Dizzy Dean, Dick Enberg, Ernie Johnson Sr, Ralph Kiner, Ned Martin and Jack Quinlan.  Enberg, Kiner and Quinlan were chosen as finalists by a fan vote, and the other seven were chosen by a Hall of Fame research committee.  Enberg and Cardenas are the only finalists who are still alive.

The final decision will by made by a 20 member panel that includes historians, writers, and the sixteen living Frick award winners, a group that includes Nuxhall's longtime partner Marty Brennaman.  The winner will be announced on December 10, and will be honored during the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in late July of next year.

Nuxhall pitched in the major leagues for fifteen years, all but one for the Reds.  A two time All-Star, he holds the record as the youngest player ever to appear in a major league game, which he achieved when he appeared as a relief pitcher in 1944.  After retiring as a player, he became a radio broadcaster, partnering with Brennaman.  Nuxhall retired as a full time broadcaster in 2004, and passed away on November 15, 2007.