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Virginia Sports Hall of Famer Marty Brennaman signs-off after 46 years as voice of MLB’s Reds

Posted at 2:08 PM, Sep 26, 2019
and last updated 2019-09-26 17:14:04-04

Cincinnati Reds fans hold up signs to acknowledge retiring broadcaster Marty Brennaman. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

CINCINNATI, Ohio – It’s the end of an era in Cincinnati – for a career that started in Hampton Roads.

Thursday, legendary Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman, a Portsmouth native, calls his final baseball game in the radio booth. The Baseball Hall of Famer has been an icon in Reds Country throughout his 46 seasons behind the mic, and generations of fans have grown up with him as the “Voice of the Reds.” Thursday September 26, 2019 is officially Marty Brennaman Day in Cincinnati.

Brennaman, who took over as lead broadcaster for the Cincinnati Reds in 1974, was named the winner of the Ford C. Frick Award in 2000 by the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Cincinnati Reds radio broadcaster Marty Brennaman. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

In 1999, Brennaman was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

A graduate of The University of North Carolina, Brennaman joined WTAR Radio in Norfolk in 1970 as a broadcaster for the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association. Brennaman would also broadcast the Tidewater Tides (now the Norfolk Tides) baseball team and the College of William & Mary football team. He also broadcast one season for the Virginia Tech football team.