By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter
You really can’t tell the Joe Brennan story in a few words – or a few thousand.
But here goes.
When Joe ends his 20-year tenure Wednesday, Dec. 20, as president of the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, it’s not going to be easy to look back and simply say: “Joe did that.”
Unless you add “and Joe did that and that and that and that and on and on and on . . . .” Joe did just about everything anyone could do to make the organization that honors Northern Kentucky’s sports history a relevant presence around here.
That beautiful mural on the Covington floodwall honoring the 1939 Nick Carr Boosters World Champions softball team? That was Joe. Inducting the first woman – Walton baseball/softball legend Pat Scott – and the first minority – Covington Grant basketball great Tom Thacker – that was Joe.
All those Behringer-Crawford Museum exhibitions focusing on the special sports history of Northern Kentucky like “Reach for the Stars” and “Batters Up” and “From the Mound to the Hill, the Jim Bunning Story” about the Northern Kentuckian who is only person ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and the U.S. Senate? Also Joe.
But then that makes sense since it was Joe, in his time as a Covington City commissioner, who helped save the museum from demolition, transferring it to a Board of Trustees for that purpose.
It’s hard to find much around here that Joe hasn’t been a part of. Main Strasse Village, now one of America’s top tourist attractions? Joe was the deciding vote to approve it.
A Holmes High grad who played and then coached Knothole baseball for years here, Joe has been there, done that and then kept doing it. Like those 85 half-hour interview shows co-hosted with Charlie Coleman that allow Northern Kentucky sports legends to tell their stories, preserving them for history.
Here’s all you need to know about Joe. On the night he graduated from Holmes, at 7, he reported for his first shift of a 36-year career with the New York Central Railroad.
But about the time as he was finishing up, Joe got involved as a member with the Hall of Fame through its legendary inspiration, Bill Cappel, who would years later ask him to help carry things on.
Joe said he would with two conditions: No prejudice against minorities of any kind and lowering the age of induction from 62, that has gradually worked its way down to the current 36.
“We had $128 in the treasury,” Joe says of the group that over the last 10 years has been able to award $50,000 in scholarships and give $20,000 to the Behringer-Crawford Museum.
Joe has had plenty of help, he says, with Jack Aynes, 91 now, starting the golf outing and Denny Bowman raising the money. “Anything you wanted done,” he says of members like Vice-president Kenney Shields and members like Benny Clary and Tom Berns, who have always been there when help was needed.
Joe cites this quote for what his time with the NKSHOF has meant for him: “Many people walk into your life but few leave footprints in your heart.”
But not in Joe’s case. “I’ve had the chance to meet so many special people,” he says. And there are lots of footprints in his heart.
Joe won’t be leaving completely. “I’ll remain on the advisory committee with Jack Aynes and help out any way I can.”
His successor will be Randy Marsh, the retired longtime Major League umpire and another Covington guy, who likes to joke that “Joe came to me and said he wanted to get new blood in the group . . . and I’m 70.”
“Randy’s just a young kid,” says Joe. “But then, I’m 84.”
Don’t worry about Joe’s not having much to do. He’s been an advisor for the creation of the Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame started by H.B. Deatherage for years now, bringing his sports hall of fame experience with him.
“I’m doing it to honor my father and three brothers, all veterans,” Joe says.
The key words there are these two: “doing it.” It’s what Joe Brennan has always done.
NKSHOF CHRISTMAS PARTY WEDNESDAY
Luncheon will be at noon for all attendees, no charge, and the meeting will start at 1 next Wednesday at the Gardens of Park Hills.
• Special awards for their longtime service will go to Jack Aynes and Denny Bowman.
• Guest speaker will be Cincinnati Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall with the story of this most interesting offseason for the Reds.
December’s inductees are:
• The late Mike Caple, a three-sport high school star – plus diving — from Ludlow’s most distinguished family of athletes with Hall of Famers Harold, his father, and uncles Charlie and Clarence, aunt Dorothy and brothers Danny and Denny.
• Also from Ludlow, Charles Margolen, a three-sport athlete for three years at Ludlow who made all-conference in all three sports before going on to coach football at Ludlow and Dixie Heights.
• From Newport High School, another three-sport athlete in Ron Parry. His Newport Yankees would win the Class A National Knothole championship and he would go on to Western Kentucky as a three-year starter where his football teammate was another Northern Kentucky legend, Jim Vorhees. With a law degree, Ron has been a practicing attorney since 1973.
• Michael Zang and Jay Zang: The Zang family owns four Skyline restaurants in Northern Kentucky and sponsor numerous sports and teams in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati. They have also sponsored NKSHOF dinners, the golf outing, the summer reunion and Behringer-Crawford events as well as teams at Dixie Heights, Lloyd Memorial, St. Henry, Notre Dame Academy and St. Pius X schools along with NKU and Thomas More. Mike’s Erlanger location displays jerseys and sports memorabilia. Jay has coached or managed more than 25 baseball teams in Knothole and other leagues while the family has also sponsored a number of local tournaments.
Contact Dan Weber at dweber3440@aol.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @dweber3440.