At least he is with his brother joe. Rest in peace phil niekro you mastered the knuckle ball pitch well and you will be missed greatly throughout the entire mlb.
Back in the late 60's in Atlanta, Mr. Niekro would go around the public schools with some other Braves (including Hank, up until all the death threat nonsense happened a few years later) and visit us kids. I remember him as not looking like the typical athlete - but I also remember him being so nice and kind to us. He didn't have to come see us, but he did and seemed to genuinely enjoy it. He will be missed.... - Ed on the Ridge
What a legend. My dad told me about Phil neikro. From the sandpaper to the Vaseline, always getting caught 🤣 Still one of the deadliest to ever do it. RIP KNUCKSIE
Love the story about Sparky Anderson going to Jonny Bench saying we might trade for Phil Niekro, Jonny Bench said, well you better trade for the catcher too.
Phil's mantra, which he shared with the late Tim Wakefield (😢), Tom Candiotti, and R. A. Dickey was: "Knuckleball, knuckleball, knuckleball!" In other words, one must commit himself to the pitch and refrain from attempting to routinely combine it with other sorts breaking balls. Under Phil's tutelage, Tim Wakefield, Tom Candiotti, and R. A. Dickey developed the requisite confidence to hurl their knucklers 75 to 80% of each inning they pitched.
