By John Kiesewetter
The Cincinnati Enquirer

FAIRFIELD - An all-star lineup of "The Old Lefthander's" former teammates and other friends will pay "A Tribute to Joe Nuxhall" today.

More than 800 people will attend the sold-out dinner at Receptions Banquet and Conference Center, says Betsy Dockery, Fairfield Community Foundation director.

Marty Brenneman, Nuxhall's radio partner for 30 years, is master of ceremonies for the evening, which will launch the Joe Nuxhall Character Education Fund to be administered by the foundation.

Set to speak are former Reds Jim O'Toole, Ed Bailey, Ray Knight, Tom Browning, Paul O'Neill, Ron Oester and Chris Welsh; son Kim Nuxhall; brother Bob Nuxhall; and Lindsay Murray and Dan Hartleb, Nuxhall's former Hamilton High School football teammates.

More than $100,000 already has been raised from the dinner for the Nuxhall Character Education Fund, a permanent account to support education projects in Fairfield and Butler County, Dockery said.

Nonprofit organizations and schools may apply for grants from the fund next year, she said.

Nuxhall, 75, a Hamilton native and longtime Fairfield resident, was diagnosed last month with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

He will have completed 53 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds when he retires after next season.

Nuxhall holds a record as the youngest Major League Baseball player - pitching for the Reds at age 15 on June 10, 1944. He returned to the team in 1952, and played most of his 16-year career for Cincinnati before retiring to the radio booth in 1967.

The Nuxhall-Brenneman team is baseball's longest-running radio tandem.

Stepping up to the plate

Joe Nuxhall is a major player in Butler County. Nearly $300,000 has been distributed to students at 13 Butler County high schools since 1989 through his scholarship fund. Already, $100,000 has been collected for the new Joe Nuxhall Character Education Fund, which will provide grants to Butler County schools and nonprofit agencies.

He also has campaigned for tax levies for schools, senior services and the developmentally disabled.

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E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.com