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Marty Brennaman got his start calling professional sports contests in 1970 with the American Basketball Association’s Virginia Squires. The following season he added baseball to his plate as the primary man for the Triple-A Tidewater Tides. In 1974 he got his big break when he was hired by the Cincinnati Reds.

Brennaman remained in the Reds broadcast booth for the next 45 years. During his illustrious career Brennaman earned the highest honors his team and sport bestow. In 2000 he was given the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award which honors broadcasters for “major contributions to baseball.” Twenty years later the Reds inducted Brennaman into the Reds team Hall of Fame.

From 1974-2004 Brennaman called play-by-play with former Cincinnati pitcher Joe Nuxhall. Marty and Joe each had a memorable catch phrase. After a Reds victory Brenaman declared, “this one belongs to the Reds”. When he signed off, Nuxhall told the audience, “This is the old left-hander, rounding third and heading for home”.

In addition to three Reds World Series titles, big moments that Brennaman announced include Hank Aaron’s 714th homer, Tom Seaver’s no-hitter, Pete Rose’s 4,192nd hit, Tom Browning’s perfect game, Ken Griffey’s 500th and 600th homers, and Roy Halladay’s postseason no-no in the 2010 NLDS.

Shown here is an official publication from the team dated February, 1974. The Cincinnati Reds-Letter top story is the hiring of Brennaman as broadcaster. Just below that story is the announcement of Nuxhall returning for his 8th year. Both men have signed near their adjacent photo.

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Joe Nuxhall had two careers in Major League Baseball. He debuted as a big league pitcher on July 10th, 1944 and remains the youngest man to play at the sports highest level at 15 years, 316 days old. In 16 seasons he won 135 games with 20 shutouts and 83 complete games.

Immediately after retiring as a player he joined the Reds broadcast team. For more than a half-century he endeared himself to the Cincinnati faithful. From 1974 until he retired from full-time duties in 2004 Nuxhall teamed with play-by-play man Marty Brennaman.

Elected to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1968 for his pitching career, Nuxhall was beloved as a player and announcer. The old lefthander is featured in one of eight statues near the entrance to the Reds’ Great American Ball Park. The others are Ernie Lombardi, Ted Kluszewski, Frank Robinson, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, and Pete Rose.

In the collection is this 1964 Topps card autographed by Nuxhall.

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The Cincinnati Reds were the National League’s winningest teams of the 1970s. Known as the Big Red Machine, they won six division titles, four pennants, and two World Series titles. From 1970-1979 the averaged more than 95 wins per season.

Built by GM Bob Howsam, the Reds boasted future Hall of Famers at multiple positions and Cooperstown manager Sparky Anderson. Their zenith came in 1975 and ’76 when the won back-to-back titles.

The ’75 team won 108 games and finished 20 games ahead of the second-place Dodgers. Cincinnati swept Pittsburgh in the NLCS then defeated Boston in a thrilling seven-game Fall Classic.

A month after their triumph, Cunard Cruise Lines put together a promotional tour for the world champs. They offered an all-expenses-paid luxury cruise for Howsam, Anderson, players Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, and announcer Marty Brennaman. To earn their keep, each man did a presentation and fielded questions from those who attended.

Shown here is the baseball itinerary from that cruise. It is signed by all seven Reds and authenticated by Beckett. On the itinerary Brennaman’s named is misspelled. The introduction says, “Marty Bennerman” – “Red’s home broadcaster; you saw him do the games on TV”.

The announcer presented along with Howsam and Anderson in, “BUILDING A BALL CLUB – Bob Howsom [sic], Sparky Anderson, and Marty Brennerman [sic], discuss how a team is put together; the influence of astro turf, recruiting, drafting, scouting, trading; from front office to dugout.”

Other on-board presentations included the following:

“INSIDE THE WORLD SERIES – The inside story of the 1975 World Series from scouting the potential opponents to playing the games. Lean about Sparky Anderson’s pitching rotation strategy; front-office planning and the players’ tactics and reactions.”

“BASEBALL COMMUNICATIONS – (Signs and Signals) – the secrets of signs to and from the coaches such as ‘take’ vs. ‘hit’, ‘bunt’ vs. ‘hit’, and ‘steal’ (what about Joe Morgan on his own?). Defensive players station themselves according to the pitch called for.”

“PARA NUESTROS PASAJEROS QUE HABLAN ESPANOL – A special bi-lingual [sic] meeting with Tony Perez, Marty Brennerman [sic], and others will be held. This will be a question and answer session about major league baseball in North America and the role of Latin America players.”