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There was always something to do at the Nuxhall house in the '60s and '70s.

Greg McLaughlin's parents moved to Linwood Avenue down the street from the Nuxhalls in 1965, and that next year a life-long friendship with the Ol' Lefthander began.

"Joe was almost like a surrogate father to me. They were really, really good friends," McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin's parents divorced when he was 12 years old, and the Reds Hall of Fame pitcher was there for him. Kim Nuxhall said his dad filled a void in his childhood friend's life.

"Dad was a role model for him," said Nuxhall, executive director for the Joe Nuxhall Character Education Fund. "He was looking for a role model in his life and I think Dad served that for him."

As he grew up, McLaughlin, who has been the president of the Tiger Woods Foundation since 2000, said the elder Nuxhall used to play with all the neighborhood kids.

"His big game was basketball," McLaughlin said. "Joe was a tremendous basketball player, and a better basketball player than baseball player. He had a great shot, and played as competitively as anything with us. As the kids got older, the games got a little more intense."

McLaughlin heard of Nuxhall's death on Nov. 15 from his sister, who still lives in the house down the street from the Nuxhalls in Fairfield.

"It was really sad because he was a big part of my life," McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin plans to attend the April 3 Joe Nuxhall Hope Project fundraiser at the Oscar Center at Jungle Jim's on Dixie Highway in Fairfield. He said it is important to support the program's Nuxhall started and strengthen his legacy.

"I think that it is important for people to support worthwhile programs like the Hope Project," McLaughlin said. "I think it is important for those of us who can help to help."

McLaughlin first met Tiger Woods when he gave the then-15-year-old golfing phenom his exemption to play in the 1991 Nissan Los Angeles Open, a tournament he worked since the 1980s.

Woods and McLaughlin remained friends and helped Woods start his foundation in 1999, and in 2000 became its president.

Nuxhall said he and his mom are proud to know that they and his dad had a part in building the foundation for his future.

"I'm just so proud of him," he said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5112 or mpitman@coxohio.com.