Phil Niekro

Philip Henry Niekro (April 1, 1939 – December 26, 2020), known as "Knucksie," was an American pitcher who spent 24 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays. He is widely considered the best knuckleball pitcher in baseball history.

Niekro made five All-Star teams, led the National League in wins twice (1974 and 1979), topped the majors in earned run average once (1967), and won five National League Gold Glove Awards. He ranks 16th on MLB's all-time wins list with 318 victories and remains the only knuckleballer to reach 300 wins. Together with his younger brother Joe, they amassed 539 wins, the most by any pair of brothers in baseball history as of 2013. Niekro also holds the major league record for most wins after turning 40, with 121. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.

Born in Blaine, Ohio, and raised in Lansing, Ohio, Niekro was the son of Henrietta (Klinkoski) and Philip Niekro, of Polish descent. He attended Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio, where he was a childhood friend of Basketball Hall-of-Famer John Havlicek. The baseball field at the school's Perkins Field complex was renamed "The Niekro Diamond" in 2008 for Phil and his brother Joe. Their father, a coal miner who pitched semi-pro baseball, learned the knuckleball from another miner and taught it to his sons in the backyard. Phil also played American Legion Baseball.

Niekro signed with the Milwaukee Braves in 1959 for $250. He spent several years in the minor leagues, mostly as a reliever, moving through various levels. He briefly played for the Class AAA Louisville Colonels in 1960 before finishing that season with the Jacksonville Braves. The next year he pitched for the Class AA Austin Senators, then returned to Louisville in 1962 with a 9–6 record. He missed the 1963 season due to military service.

Niekro debuted with the Milwaukee Braves in 1964, pitching 15 major league innings and also spending time with the team's Class AAA affiliate. In 1965, he stayed with the big club all year, throwing 74⅔ innings over 41 games with six saves. In 1966, he again split time between the Braves and the minors, going 4–3 with a 4.11 ERA.

He led the league with a 1.87 ERA in 1967, finishing 11–9 with 10 complete games and nine saves. He started the year as a reliever but earned a spot in the rotation during the season. Before 1968, sportswriter Fred Down called the Braves' pitching staff "chaotic" and noted the team planned to use Niekro as both a starter and reliever. That year, Niekro appeared in 37 games, going 14–12 with 15 complete games and two saves in three relief appearances.

In 1969, his first All-Star season, Niekro went 23–13 with a 2.56 ERA, finishing second in National League Cy Young Award voting to Tom Seaver. The Braves reached the playoffs, where Niekro took the loss against Seaver and the New York Mets, allowing four earned runs over eight innings. The team was eliminated after losing the next two games.

In 1970, Niekro went 12–18 with a 4.27 ERA in a down year, leading the league with 40 home runs allowed—a feat he repeated in 1979. From 1971 to 1973, he combined for a 44–36 record as the Braves finished third, fourth, and fifth in their division. On August 5, 1973, he threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres, the first for the Braves since moving to Atlanta.

In 1974, Niekro led the league in wins (20), complete games (18), and innings pitched (302.1), finishing third in Cy Young voting. From 1975 to 1976, he went 15–15 and 17–11, earning a second All-Star nod in 1975. Between 1977 and 1979, he led the league in complete games, innings pitched, and batters faced. In 1979, at age 40, he led the league in both wins (21) and losses (20), finishing sixth in Cy Young voting in both 1978 and 1979. He made his third All-Star appearance in 1978 and won three straight Gold Glove Awards from 1978 to 1980. Phil and Joe Niekro were co-leaders in NL wins in 1979, each with 21. As of 2013, Niekro remains the last MLB pitcher to win and lose 20 games in the same season. That year was his third and final 20-win season and his second and final 20-loss season.

In 1980 and 1981, Niekro went 15–18 and 7–7, leading the league in games started (38) and losses (18) in 1980. In 1982, at age 43, he led the Braves with a 17–4 record, winning his fourth Gold Glove and appearing in his fourth All-Star Game. On October 1, with the Braves holding a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, Niekro beat the San Diego Padres almost single-handedly, throwing a complete-game shutout and hitting a two-run home run. He started Game 1 of the 1982 National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, but the game was called due to rain before it became official. He pitched six innings of Game 2 and left with a 3–2 lead, but the Cardinals scored two late runs after his exit and swept the series. In 1983, he went 11–10 and won his fifth Gold Glove.