CINCINNATI -- Joe Nuxhall, the youngest major leaguer at age

15 and later a beloved broadcaster as "the ol' left-hander" in

Cincinnati, has died. He was 79.

Nuxhall died Thursday night while hospitalized for treatment of

pneumonia, the team said. He was awaiting surgery to insert a

pacemaker, and had been slowed by a recurrence of cancer since

September.

Brought up by Cincinnati to pitch during World War II -- just out

of junior high classes, he unraveled at the sight of Stan Musial in

the on-deck circle -- Nuxhall worked more than six decades for the

Reds. He continued to pitch batting practice into the 1980s and was

a member of the team's Hall of Fame.

While he won 135 games, it was on the radio where he became best

known. On a franchise filled with Hall of Fame players and big

personalities, Nuxhall might have been the most popular of all.

Joe Nuxhall -- seen here on June 10, 1944, when he became the youngest player to appear in an MLB game in the modern era -- had a much longer career as a Reds broadcaster. AP Photo

"This is a sad day for everyone in the Reds organization,"

outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. said in a statement. "He did so many

great things for so many people. You never heard anyone ever say a

bad word about him. We're all going to miss him."

Reds owner Bob Castellini said Friday that "Joe exemplified

everything baseball's all about, from the mound to the broadcast

booth."

Great American Ball Park was to be dark Friday night in

Nuxhall's honor, except for spotlights shining on his statue

outside the main gate. Also to be illuminated were the big red

words of his radio signoff, emblazoned outside the stadium: "...

rounding third and heading for home."

"Summer nights in Cincinnati will never be the same again

without the voice of the ol' left-hander crackling over the

airwaves," U.S. Rep. John Boehner of Ohio said in a statement.

"To millions, even those who never met Joe in person, his voice

was the voice of a good friend."

Nuxhall's son, Kim, released a statement thanking the public for

the many cards and messages sent to his father.

"Dad felt that he truly had three extended families during his

career -- the great City of Hamilton, where he grew up; Fairfield,

where he raised his children; and Cincinnati, where he was able to

play and broadcast the great game of baseball with the Cincinnati

Reds," Kim Nuxhall said.

"We will be eternally grateful to the Cincinnati Reds

organization and the fans who provided us with experiences and

memories of a lifetime. Dad truly loved you all," he said.

Nuxhall's place in baseball lore was secured the moment he

stepped onto a big league field. With major league rosters depleted

during World War II, he got a chance to pitch in relief for the

Reds on June 10, 1944.

At 15 years, 10 months, 11 days old, Nuxhall was big for his

age. He was 6-foot-3 and his parents let him join the Reds when

school let out.

Nuxhall spent most of the time watching from the bench, assuming

he'd never get into a game. The Reds were trailing the St. Louis

Cardinals 13-0 after eight innings when manager Bill McKechnie

decided to give the kid a chance.

Nuxhall was so rattled when summoned to warm up that he tripped

on the top step of the dugout and fell on his face in front of

3,510 fans at Crosley Field. He was terrified when it came time to

walk to the mound.

"Probably two weeks prior to that, I was pitching against

seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders, kids 13 and 14 years old," he

recalled. "All of a sudden, I look up and there's Stan Musial and

the likes. It was a very scary situation."

Nuxhall walked one and retired two batters before glancing at

the on-deck circle and seeing Musial. Nuxhall unraveled _ Musial

hit a line-drive single, and the Cardinals scored five runs as the

young pitcher lost his ability to throw a strike and failed to get

another out. In all, he walked five and threw a wild pitch in

two-thirds of an inning.

"Those people that were at Crosley Field that afternoon

probably said, 'Well, that's the last we'll see of that kid,"'

Nuxhall said.

The Reds sent him to the minors, but eight years later he was

back with the Reds. Nuxhall spent 15 of his 16 big league seasons

with the Reds, going 135-117 before his retirement in 1966.

A year later, Nuxhall started doing radio broadcasts, describing

games in a slow-paced, down-home manner that caught on with

listeners. Marty Brennaman became the play-by-play announcer in

1974, and the "Marty and Joe" tandem spent the next 28 seasons

chatting about their golf games, their gardens and some of the

biggest moments in franchise history.

Nuxhall retired as a full-time radio broadcaster after the 2004

season, the 60th anniversary of his historic pitching debut. Since

then, he was heavily involved in charity work, especially his

scholarship and character education programs.

He had surgery for prostate cancer in 1992, followed by a mild

heart attack in 2001. The cancer returned last February, when he

was preparing for spring training in Sarasota, Fla.

Nuxhall called some games last season even though his left leg

was swollen by tumors. He was hospitalized again this week.

There will be a private funeral Wednesday.