Phil Niekro

Philip Henry Niekro (pronounced NEE-kro) (born April 1, 1939), nicknamed "Knucksie", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), 20 of them with the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves. Niekro's 318 career victories are the most by a knuckleball pitcher and rank 16th on MLB's all-time wins list. He won the National League (NL) Gold Glove Award five times, was selected for five All-Star teams, and led the league in victories twice and earned run average once. He was a key contributor to the Braves winning their only two division titles before 1991. Niekro was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997. Phil and his younger brother Joe Niekro amassed 539 wins between them, the most combined wins by brothers in baseball history. Phil's 121 career victories after the age of 40 is a major league record. His longevity is attributed to his knuckleball, which is a difficult pitch to master but is easy on the arm and often baffles hitters due to its unpredictable trajectory. Niekro was the last MLB pitcher to have both won and lost 20 or more games in the same season. With the 1979 Braves, Niekro finished with 21 wins and 20 losses. This was his third and final 20-win season and his second and final 20-loss season. That season, Phil and Joe Niekro were NL co-leaders in wins.