The Brennaman Report

The Brennaman Report

July 6, 2025

50 Years! Has it really been 50 years since my parents were making me watch the World Series on TV with them back in 1975? I was only 3.5 years old, but I vividly remember hearing about and watching the Big Red Machine play baseball at Riverfront Stadium. How lucky are we—those that remember—to have watched one of, if not the, greatest teams in the history of Major League Baseball?

What’s even more amazing for me is that now, 50 years later, I get to call so many of these greats’ friends. I never take for granted the company I get to keep, and last weekend I was keeping some impressive company. Marty was the MC and host for the entire weekend, which is only fitting since he was there every step of the way in 1975 and 1976. He was only in his second year as a broadcaster when he got his first World Series ring. He will tell you that he just assumed it was normal to win so many games, and winning back-to-back World Series was just what you were supposed to do! He found out, as the years went by, just how special the ’75 and ’76 teams were to Cincinnati and the rest of the baseball world.

Game 6 of the 1975 World Series is said to be one of the greatest baseball games ever played, with a 12-inning walk-off by Carlton Fisk. But what many seem to forget—unless you are a Reds fan—is that Game 7 was the culmination of an impressive year with 108 wins and besting the Dodgers by 20 games in the division.

The Cincinnati Reds and the Reds Hall of Fame are top of the class when it comes to celebrating their past players, so it’s no surprise the 50th Anniversary of the Big Red Machine was spectacular. Twenty-three members of those famous 1975–1976 teams gathered for three days in Cincinnati, and the stories and memories were flowing.

Sadly, we were missing some big names and good friends at the reunion weekend. Not having Pete Rose and Joe Morgan with us was a major void. Marty, Pete, and Joe were best friends back in the day, and all of them stayed in contact until the very end. We still have a relationship with each of their families. We were also missing Davey Concepcion, who has been dealing with some health issues. We lost local legend and a person responsible for many of those Big Red Machine wins—pitcher Don Gullett.

Marty really enjoyed getting to catch up with some of the former players he had not seen since they left baseball. We are fortunate in that we still spend a lot of time with members of the Great 8, including Johnny Bench, Ken Griffey Sr., George Foster, and Tony Perez. We also see several of the former backup players on a regular basis. Doug Flynn has become such a dear friend to us, along with his wife Olga, as well as Rawley Eastwick and his wife Hanky. We absolutely love Jack and Jolene Billingham and try to see all of the folks as often as possible. None of us are getting any younger, and we never take for granted times like last weekend that bring this special group back together.

As for the Brennamans, we have continued to enjoy Marty’s retirement from daily broadcasting of the Reds games. We travel—a lot—spend time with family and friends, and stay involved in community activities. Marty still has commitments with the Reds for advertising work and appearances, and we both enjoy doing the Laura’s Lean Beef commercials.

We make it back to the Ashland area on a regular basis, so if you see us out and about, please stop and chat.

Until next time,Amanda Ingram Brennaman