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Book Nook: 'Joe Nuxhall: the Old Lefthander & Me: My Conversations with Joe Nuxhall about the Reds, Baseball & Broadcasting' by John Kiesewetter

Cover of 'Joe Nuxhall: the Old Lefthander & Me: My Conversations with Joe Nuxhall about the Reds, Baseball & Broadcasting' by John Kiesewetter

Vick Mickunas speaks with journalist John Kiesewetter.

John Kiesewetter has had a long career as a journalist. For decades he covered the television beat for the Cincinnati Enquirer. As part of his reporting duties he was able to hang out with the long-time broadcasters for the Cincinnati Reds. John spent time in the broadcast booth with Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall and observed their shenanigans. The author has been a baseball fan and a Cincinnati Reds for his entire life. Joe Nuxhall was a legendary pitcher who had some really great seasons pitching for the Reds.

Joe made his pitching debut with the Reds when he was only 15 years old. He was the youngest player in major league history, a record that is quite unlikely to ever be broken. When Nuxhall retired from playing baseball he made the transition to covering the team as a broadcaster. His radio broadcasts became the stuff of legend. Nuxy's homespun wit and occasionally fractured commentary had listeners chuckling all across the tri-state region. John Kiesewetter has written an affectionate, humorous tribute to one of the nicest guys to ever sidle up to a microphone.

The Book Nook on WYSO is presented by the Greene County Public Library with additional support from Washington-Centerville Public LibraryClark County Public LibraryDayton Metro Library, and Wright Memorial Public Library.

Vick Mickunas is the host of Book Nook on WYSO, which he created in 1994. He has conducted more than 1,700 author interviews, from Studs Terkel to Lee Child to John Glenn. He is a book critic for the Dayton Daily News and the Springfield News-Sun.