Memories Of Days Gone By Watching Phil Niekro

The recent passing of Hall of Famer Phil Niekro brought back a ton of childhood memories including those on the recreation ball field.

Niekro, who began playing for the Braves well before I was born and before the team starting calling Atlanta home, had a lengthy and just as successful career with his knuckleball which baffled batters for multiple generations.

Making his pro baseball debut with the Milwaukee Braves in 1964, Niekro would continue with the organization through its move to Atlanta. He was a major part of the team’s magical 1982 season which began with 13 consecutive victories and a trip to the postseason.

Niekro was 17-4 in 1982 and won his fourth gold glove at the age of 43. Despite his age that season, “Knucksie” was nowhere near finished on the diamond. He would eventually play for the New York Yankees for two seasons as well as for the Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays.

He was able to finish his career back in Atlanta and on Sept. 27, 1987, made his final appearance. He would retire at the conclusion of the season.

Niekro was somewhat of a mythical sports figure among my childhood friends. As young baseball players ourselves we were all in awe of his knuckleball and how effective he made it. We all tried to throw it as well, but none of us had the magic touch that Niekro did.

Even those among us who were pitchers in Little League Baseball failed miserably at throwing a knuckler. I remember during one summer recreation season, my father (our coach) told our pitchers not to try and throw like certain players we watched on television.

Growing up in the Atlanta area offered a great view of Niekro and his many accomplishments. Even when the team wasn’t winning (which was most of the time outside of that 1982 season) the games were always must watching.

Whether I was at a friend’s house or friends gathered at mine, we all made sure to be around the television set when the Braves began playing another game. Some of the more memorable times came when the Braves were playing on the West Coast which often meant a 10:30 p.m. game time.

On the weekends during sleepovers, it added to the mystique of watching our state’s pro baseball team well into the early morning, even if it often meant a loss.

When Niekro took the mound there was always a chance for a win. Of course, Niekro had no control over how poor Atlanta was offensively. He could record 10 or 11 strikeouts but still get the loss in a 1-0 game.

Watching the Braves during the course of their marathon season was something we all enjoyed. As aspiring young players, we wanted to make those playing in the big time and emulate them as much as possible even if it didn’t improve our own game.

Days were spent swimming, fishing, riding motorcycles and go-carts and playing football in the yard or throwing the baseball around and connecting for home runs over imaginary fences in someone’s backyard. “If he goes past that tree then it is an automatic home run,” is a phrase we repeated often.

It’s a shame by the time the Braves became an annual contender in 1991 that Niekro was enjoying retirement. I never had the chance to meet him in person but all indications are he was someone who would sign every autograph that was requested and always had time for the fans.

We can only hope and assume the Braves will honor Niekro during the upcoming season. His remarkable career is certainly worth remembering. We were lucky to have him on “our team.”

Monticello native Chris Bridges has contributed to The Monticello News since 1988. He welcomes feedback about this column at pchrisbridges@gmail.com.