Position Pitcher Born 4/1/1939 Blaine, Ohio Debut April 1964 Milwaukee Braves Bats Right Throws Right Ht 6'1" Wt 180 Like a certain television commercial rabbit and his batteries, pitcher Phil Niekro and his knuckleball kept going, and going, and going. Niekro pitched for two decades with the Braves, in Milwaukee and Atlanta. He won more than 300 games and lost more games than any other National League pitcher in the modern era. Phil and his brother, Joe, hold the record for most wins by a brother combination in major league history. Niekro was born on April 1, 1939, in Blaine, Ohio. Joe was born five and a half years later. Niekro’s father was a fastball pitcher in the industrial leagues. While playing catch when Phil was 10 or 11 years old, his father threw him a knuckleball as a joke. The knuckler eluded young Niekro, but it fascinated him and he wanted to learn how to throw it. By the time he reached high school, Niekro had become so proficient with the pitch that his father could no longer catch it. The Milwaukee Braves were sufficiently interested in Niekro and his knuckleball to sign him for a $500 bonus. Niekro put in his time in the minors and saw the country. He played at Wellsville in the New York-Penn League, McCook in the Nebraska State League, Jacksonville in the South Atlantic League, Louisville in the American Association, Austin in the Texas League, and Denver in the Pacific Coast League. Niekro, recalled writer Pat Jordan, who pitched with Niekro in 1959, was “the tenth pitcher on the staff. At first he appeared only in the last innings of hopelessly lost games. He was inefficient because he could not throw his knuckleball over the plate, and preferred instead, to deal up one of his other pitches, all of which were deficient.” Mastery of the knuckleball came slowly but surely. When Niekro reached the Braves to stay in 1965, their last year in Milwaukee before moving to Atlanta, he was a relief pitcher. He made 41 appearances, only one start, and saved six games. By 1967, 20 of Niekro’s appearances were as a starting pitcher. He won 11 games that season, while losing 9, and led the NL in ERA with a 1.87 mark. Although he would make an occasional relief appearance throughout his career, after 1967 he was used primarily as a starter. “When I first came up,” Niekro said years later, “I felt like a kid. I looked at guys like (teammates) Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron as men. I felt I had to throw only strikes. If I dropped the ball covering first base, I thought I’d be cut from the team.” Soon Niekro was the ace of the Braves staff. In 1969 he won 23 games as the Braves captured the first NL West title. He struck out 193 batters versus only 57 walks, and he nearly notched his first no-hitter, losing it when Cincinnati’s Tony Perez hit a home run. Niekro started but lost Game 1 of the first National League Championship Series to Tom Seaver, as the Mets swept the Braves in three games. Niekro struggled in 1970, losing 18 games and seeing his ERA soar to 4.27. He developed a sore arm after two more mediocre seasons, and Atlanta Manager Eddie Mathews moved him to the bullpen to start 1973. Niekro eventually returned to the rotation, and on August 5, 1973, he pitched a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres, the first no-hitter by a Braves pitcher since Warren Spahn recorded one in 1961. “Knucksie” finished the season with a 13-10 record, a 3.31 ERA, and four saves. In 1974 Niekro won 20 games again for the Braves, tying for the league lead in victories. He also led the league in complete games, with 18, and innings pitched, with 302. Brother Joe was a relief pitcher on that Braves squad, going 3-2 with a 3.56 ERA. However, at season’s end, he was sold to Houston for $35,000. Phil Niekro won 15 games in 1975 and 17 in 1976, but the Braves finished with more than 90 losses in each season. In 1977 Atlanta lost 101 games and finished in the NL West basement. Niekro lost a league-leading 20 of those games, yet he led the league again in strikeouts, complete games, and innings. He led the NL in complete games and innings for the next two years as well, pitching more than 300 innings both times. On July 29, 1977, Niekro struck out Pittsburgh’s Dave Parker, Bill Robinson, Rennie Stennett, and Omar Moreno in the sixth inning, becoming the ninth player in NL history to fan four batters in one inning. In 1978 Niekro was 19-18; he was now 40 years old and his days as a 20-win pitcher appeared to be over. The Braves stayed at the botton in 1979, losing 94 games and finishing 24 games behind first-place Cincinnati. But Niekro somehow managed to win 21 games, and he is the last player in the major leagues to win 20 games for a last-place team. Niekro also lost 20 games to become the first pitcher since 1906 to win and lose at least 20 games in the same season. He pitched a whopping 342 innings that season, including a career-high 23 complete games. Always a strong fielder, Niekro won NL Gold Glove awards in 1978, 1979, and 1980, and added two more in 1982 and 1983. The ups and downs on the mound continued for Niekro during the next few seasons, however. He was 15-18 in 1980, then led the NL in winning percentage with .810, when he went 17-4 in 1982. The Braves won the NL West that season, and Niekro started Game 2 of the NLCS against St. Louis. He had a no-decision, however, and the Cardinals swept the Braves. Following the 1983 season, Niekro, now age 44, was released by the Braves. He signed with the New York Yankees and won 16 games in each of two seasons in the Bronx. He won his 300th game in a Yankee uniform in 1985, forgoing the knuckleball until the last two pitches of the game. Niekro left the Yankees following that season and signed with the Cleveland Indians at the start of the 1986 campaign. The Indians traded him to Toronto on August 9, 1987, and they released him on August 31. Niekro recalled that it wasn’t easy for Toronto Manager Jimy William to let him go: “Jimy looked me in the eye and said, ‘Releasing a Hall of Famer like you is the hardest thing I ever had to do.’ From the look on his face, I believed him.” Niekro was re-signed by Atlanta on September 23, 1987, for one last appearance in a Braves uniform. He started a game and lasted until he loaded the bases in the fourth inning. The show was over but he still wasn’t ready to leave. “They released me because of my age not my talent,” he said. Niekro won 121 games after age 40, the most wins by anyone over that age in baseball history. In addition, he holds four more major league records for most wins—16 at age 45, 16 at age 46, 11 at age 47, and 7 at age 48. He left the game with 318 wins and 274 losses, a modern NL record. Thanks to the knuckleball, he also set an NL career record for wild pitches, with 200. Phil and Joe, who won 221 games, hold the record for the most wins by brothers, with 539, edging the Perrys’ 529, the Clarksons’ 383, and the Mathewsons’ 373. Phil Niekro might have won many more games had he pitched for a contending organization. The Braves were perennial also-rans throughout the 1970s, and often afforded Niekro little or no run support. Niekro’s 49 shutout losses are the third most in major league history; he trails only Nolan Ryan and Walter Johnson. Niekro also holds the record for most seasons, with 24, played without appearing in a World Series. “I’ve taken my shots of cortisone in the arm, and lord knows, I’ve had my share of aches and pains,” he once said. “I feel it’s remarkable to have played so long and only been on the disabled list once.” The Braves honored Niekro by retiring his uniform No. 35, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1997. © 1994 Microsoft