TTM: John Tsitouris

Did you know that John Tsitouris was part of the trade that sent Joe Nuxhall to the Kansas City Athletics in January 1961?

Marty and Thom Bobblehead

Yet another bobblehead to add to my collection of Reds nodders. I was on the fence about whether or not I should pick this one up since I had the Marty and Joe bobblehead, but I decided to bite the bullet and grab this one from eBay for less than $8 shipped. I do think it's cool that father and son broadcast games for the Reds and while I have Marty's autograph, I'm still lacking Thom's. This bobblehead was given out on August 22, 2007 when the Reds faced the Braves. Cincinnati won the game 4-2 with the help of a Josh Hamilton (when he was with the Reds) dinger. I'm still upset with the Hamilton Volquez trade so I won't go there.

Bronze Sparky

Last week I decided to nab a stadium giveaway that has eluded me for quite some time...the bronze Sparky Anderson statue that was given away at Great American Ballpark on May 14, 2011 when the Reds took on the Cardinals. While it's not on my list of collection goals for 2013, the price was too good to pass up ($20 shipped) since most of them listed on eBay have been going from $35 to $50! It complements my bronze Nuxhall statue quite nicely!

Marty and Joe Bobblehead

I picked this up on eBay a few weeks ago to add to my Cincinnati Reds bobblehead collection and all I can say is WOW!!! This is one of my favorite bobbleheads I have in my collection. I've always wanted to add this to my collection and for less than $25 shipped I think it was a steal. Growing up in Cincinnati, if I wasn't watching a game on TV, I was listening to it on the radio and thanks to Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall it was a treat to listen to a Reds game on 700 WLW.

Marty Brennaman Autographed Baseball

Marty has been the Reds radio announcer for the team since 1974. For thirty years he called play-by-play with former Reds pitcher Joe Nuxhall until Nuxhall's retirement from broadcasting in 2004. Some of the most notable events in Reds history that Brennaman has called include: the Reds World Series victories in 1975, 1976 and 1990, Pete Rose's 4192nd hit, Tom Browning's perfect game, and Ken Griffey Jr. 600th career home run. Marty was the recipient of the Ford C. Frick award in 2000 for major contributions to the game of baseball. 

Bronze Nuxy

This is one of my most favorite stadium giveaways I have in my collection. The Reds gave out 30,000 of these bronze beauties on June 10, 2008 when the Reds were defeated by the Cardinals 7-2 The only highlight in that game for the Reds was a Votto home run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Nuxhall giveaway represents a smaller version of the statue that can be found outside the main entrance to the stadium (along with Ernie Lombardi, Frank Robinson and Ted Kluszewski). Nuxhall made his major league debut with the Reds on June 10, 1944 giving up five runs before being relieved after a third of an inning in the ninth. He spent 15 of his 16 years in the majors with the Reds and was a two time all-star. After retiring from the field he began announcing games for Cincinnati. In 1974 he teamed up with Marty Brennaman to become one of the most memorable announcer pairings in Reds history. He retired from broadcasting in 2004, but continued to make guest appearances prior to his death on November 15, 2007.

Joe Nuxhall Bobblehead

This Nuxhall nodder was given out on April 21, 2004 to the first 40,000 fans. Talk about limited production!!! Nuxhall pitched his first major league game for the Reds on June 10, 1944 at the ripe young age of 15 years, 10 months, 11 days. After retiring from baseball, Nuxhall became a broadcaster for the Reds beginning in 1967 and continued to do so for 40 years. This is probably my most favorite bobblehead of my collection because it depicts the young Nuxhall in the classic 1940s era Reds uniform. While I never saw Nuxy play ball, I did have the privileged of listening to him announce Reds games with Marty Brennaman while growing up on the outskirts of Cincinnati. Truly a classy guy!

More Autographed Baseballs

Aside from my autographed team baseballs and the three baseballs from individuals affiliated with the reds that weren't players (Marty Brennaman, Marge Schott, and Hal McCoy), here are the other autographed baseballs in my collection as well as a rundown of why I have them:
Tom Browning - Only Red to throw a perfect game
Johnny Vander Meer - Only pitcher to ever throw back to back no hitters
Chris Sabo - 1988 National League Rookie of the Year
Tommy Helms - 1966 National League Rookie of the Year
Eric Davis - Tied for most grand slams in a month (3)
Frank Robinson - 1956 National League Rookie of the Year and Hall of Famer
Barry Larkin - 1995 National League MVP, 12 time All-Star and future Hall of Famer
Ken Griffey Jr - future Hall of Famer
Joe Nuxhall - youngest player ever in professional baseball (15 years 10 months 11 days old)

Although Robinson (and probably Griffey) was elected to the Hall of Fame not as a Red, he did spend time with the club and made it in to my collection.