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Philip Henry Niekro
Atlanta Braves
Pitcher
Born: April 1, 1939, Blaine, OH
Signed: Signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent, July 19, 1958
Major League Teams: Milwaukee Braves 1964-1965; Atlanta Braves 1966-1983; New York Yankees 1984-1985; Cleveland Indians 1986-1987; Toronto Blue Jays 1987; Atlanta Braves 1987
Died: December 26, 2020, Flowery Branch, GA (age 81)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1997
Hall of Fame Induction: 1997
Hall of Famer Phil Niekro pitched for 24 seasons in the majors on the strength of his baffling knuckleball. Nicknamed "Knucksie," Niekro was a five-time All-Star and a five-time Gold Glove winner, topping the National League with a 1.87 ERA in 1967. He was a two-time 20 game winner and his 121 wins after the age of 40 is a major league record. Spending parts of 21 seasons with the Braves, Niekro made only two postseason appearances in the 1969 and 1982 divisional series. He pitched a no-hitter on August 5, 1973.
Niekro combined with his brother Joe (#43) for 539 career wins, the most by two siblings in baseball history. He retired at the age of 48 after re-signing and starting one last game for the Braves on September 27, 1987. Niekro's career numbers rank him among the all-time leaders, as he went 318-274 with a 3.35 ERA and 3,342 strikeouts over 864 games, including 716 starts and 5,404 innings pitched. His #34 was retired by the Braves in 1984, and he was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1997.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #66
February 13, 2023 from Wenonah, NJ (Gar Miller Cards)
Given my chosen profession, I sit through an inordinate amount of work meetings, which are now almost all virtual in this post-pandemic world. On some occasions, these meetings are admittedly a combination of boring, unneeded, too lengthy or some combination of all three. During a recent early February virtual work meeting, and after it became apparent the meeting had derailed into matters unimportant to me personally, I bought a bunch of old baseball cards. Gar Miller is a noted hobby luminary, and he still sells vintage baseball cards via his online store, Gar Miller Cards. I navigated over to his website, picking up a small stack of cards from this 1969 Topps set build and a few bonus cards for our not yet officially collecting 1955 Bowman and 1959 Topps sets. For those watching me on screen during the virtual work meeting, I had the appearance of someone smiling, nodding appreciatively and following along attentively. But in reality, I was adding baseball cards to my online cart, including this Niekro card which was one of the most expensive cards purchased at $12.
The Card / Braves Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
This was to be Niekro's first of three 20-win seasons, as he won a career-high 23, going 23-13 overall with a 2.56 ERA in 40 games. He threw 21 complete games, including four shutouts and struck out 193 over 284 1/3 innings pitched. Niekro served as the closer for the National League All-Stars in the All-Star Game, notching the save following his perfect ninth inning. His 23rd win clinched the division title for the Braves, although his team was swept in the first NLDS by the Mets. Niekro finished second in the year's Cy Young voting behind Tom Seaver (#480).
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #541
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (25): 1964-1988
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2022 Topps Pro Debut MiLB Legends #MILB-20
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 794 in the Beckett online database as of 2/15/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
February 13, 2023 from Wenonah, NJ (Gar Miller Cards)
Given my chosen profession, I sit through an inordinate amount of work meetings, which are now almost all virtual in this post-pandemic world. On some occasions, these meetings are admittedly a combination of boring, unneeded, too lengthy or some combination of all three. During a recent early February virtual work meeting, and after it became apparent the meeting had derailed into matters unimportant to me personally, I bought a bunch of old baseball cards. Gar Miller is a noted hobby luminary, and he still sells vintage baseball cards via his online store, Gar Miller Cards. I navigated over to his website, picking up a small stack of cards from this 1969 Topps set build and a few bonus cards for our not yet officially collecting 1955 Bowman and 1959 Topps sets. For those watching me on screen during the virtual work meeting, I had the appearance of someone smiling, nodding appreciatively and following along attentively. But in reality, I was adding baseball cards to my online cart, including this Niekro card which was one of the most expensive cards purchased at $12.
The Card / Braves Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
The back of the card refers to Niekro as a "knuckleballing specialist," and I'm assuming most of his Topps cards featured some reference to his knuckle ball on the cards' backs. This card has been reprinted several times, beginning with the 2002 Topps Archives sets (main set, Reserve version and Uniform Relics insert set) and as part of the 2018 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs set signed by Niekro.
Accuracy Index: The photo may be several years' old, but it's accurate, so Niekro's card scores a 5.
1969 Season
This was to be Niekro's first of three 20-win seasons, as he won a career-high 23, going 23-13 overall with a 2.56 ERA in 40 games. He threw 21 complete games, including four shutouts and struck out 193 over 284 1/3 innings pitched. Niekro served as the closer for the National League All-Stars in the All-Star Game, notching the save following his perfect ninth inning. His 23rd win clinched the division title for the Braves, although his team was swept in the first NLDS by the Mets. Niekro finished second in the year's Cy Young voting behind Tom Seaver (#480).
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First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #541
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (25): 1964-1988
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2022 Topps Pro Debut MiLB Legends #MILB-20
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 794 in the Beckett online database as of 2/15/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
I wonder if any kids collecting in 1969 and 1970 noticed the rapid aging of players in the '70 set as compared to '69.
ReplyDeleteI would think so? If we noticed whenever someone grew a mustache or let their hair get longer, I think those kids would notice Phil Niekro suddenly aged 6 years.
ReplyDelete