Maysville connections to the Cincinnati Reds

Friday night is Maysville/Mason County night at Great American Ball Park when the Cincinnati Reds host the Colorado Rockies. That got me to thinking about Maysville connections to the Reds. Many Maysville residents used to take the George Washington train to Union Terminal in Cincinnati for a game at Crosley Field. They would watch the game, then head back to Maysville on the evening train. Here are some more connections between our town and the Reds:

• Dr. George Ballou, a graduate of Maysville High School, served as the Reds' team physician for many years. He received the MHS Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1973;
• Former Reds relief pitcher Dave Tomlin, who grew up in West Union, was born at Hayswood Hospital;
• The Reds basketball team, which included Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Lee May and Jimmy Stewart, defeated a team of local all-stars in a game at the Mason County Fieldhouse in 1970;
• Pete Rose got his record setting 4, 192nd hit on Maysville/Mason County Night at Riverfront Stadium on Sept. 11, 1985;
• Johnny Bench and Ron Oester made appearances at the Maysville Expos in the 1980s;
• Reds reliever Brad "The Animal" Lesley came to town for some promotion. I remember interviewing him downtown;
  
• The Reds Winter Caravan has stopped in Maysville the past three years;
• Bart Conway, a graduate of St. Patrick High School, is a regional group ticket sales representative for the Reds;
• WFTM has been a member of the Reds Radio Network for more than 50 years.

Ron Bailey e-mailed a Reds-Maysville connection I forgot about. In 1934 the Reds came to Maysville and played an exhibition game against a local team at a ball park on the current site of Deerfield Village. Eddie Rubenacker was at the game. He said the Reds took the train to Maysville, loaded their gear onto a truck, and jogged to the ball park. When Eddie told me the story a year or two ago, he was able to name eight of the nine Reds starters.

Leave a comment or send me an e-mail if you know of another connection between Maysville and the Reds, or if you have had a close encounter with a Reds player.