Annual Houston Knuckle Ball “Hall of Fame” – 2021, Join our Online Aneurysm/AVM Support Group, Join our Online Young Adult Survivor’s Support Group, Join our Online Aneurysm/AVM Caregivers Support Group, Join our Online Honoring the Taken Support Group. 1984 began with another Opening Day start for Niekro, his fourth and last in a career. He went 17-12 in 35 games with a 2.47 ERA and 270 innings pitched while having a career-high 16 complete games and five shutouts. Joe Niekro Foundation. He was selected off waivers by the Atlanta Braves on August 7, 1973. He appeared in Game 2 of the 1981 National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitching eight scoreless innings, although Joe Sambito ended up being the winning pitcher for the Astros as they won in the 11th inning, though the Dodgers would win the series in five games. [11] In his three seasons with New York, he went 14–15 with a 4.58 ERA in 188.2 total innings. On October 26, 2006, Niekro suffered a brain aneurysm and was taken to South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City, Florida. He started the 1983 season as the Opening Day starter. Salaries. Last edited on 18 September 2020, at 18:19, List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders, List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders, "Kingman Daily Miner - Google News Archive Search", https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN196804100.shtml, https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=niekrjo01&t=p&year=1981, https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN198104090.shtml, https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU198104190.shtml, https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU198304050.shtml, https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU198404030.shtml, https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU198506090.shtml, https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SDN/SDN198507020.shtml, "1987 World Series Game 4, Minnesota Twins at St. Louis Cardinals, October 21, 1987 - Baseball-Reference.com", "Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox Box Score, April 29, 1988 - Baseball-Reference.com", "Retrosheet Boxscore: Houston Astros 4, Atlanta Braves 3", "New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers Box Score, July 2, 1970 - Baseball-Reference.com", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Niekro&oldid=979086488, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. In 1980, Joe won the one-game playoff between the Astros and Dodgers, and then pitched a record 10 shutout innings to a no-decision in the 3rd game of the NLCS. 1979 also saw the Niekro brothers tie for the wins leader in Major League Baseball, marking this the only year that two brothers shared this honor. Joe threw harder than Phil and could set up batters nearly as effectively with his fastball in combination with his excellent changeup. Every donation matters - every dollar counts. Knuckleballer Joe Niekro enters the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame as one of the most qualified pitchers in this state’s history. He went 4 1/3 innings while giving up five runs on six hits in a 9-4 loss. His complete games pitched dropped from 16 to nine as he also led the league in wild pitches with 14 and faced a career-high 1,113 batters. Baseball had no OVAC All-Star team at that point. The non-profit organization provides education on the risk factors, causes, and treatment of these conditions, while funding the advancement of neurological research. What are the risk factors of a brain aneurysm? — Hall of Fame Debate A community for baseball Hall of Fame debate. He won 21 games for the Astros in 1979 and followed that with 20 more victories in 1980. Niekro, in addition to his baseball accolades, was an all-OVAC basketball player at the Kirkwood-based school. [12]. Niekro allowed six hits in a 7–1 Houston victory that propelled the Astros to their first postseason. [9] On July 2, he won his 200th career game, throwing a complete game against the San Diego Padres while throwing seven innings and allowing two runs on six hits. He had 152 strikeouts and 101 walks (both higher from the year before). He allowed one hit while striking out one and allowing no runs. Niekro played both baseball and basketball for the Hilltoppers. Hall of Fame Statistics. In three seasons with Detroit, he went 21–22, having his best season in 1970 by going 12–13, although he had a 4.06 ERA in 213 innings, with a high of 101 strikeouts. Home; About; Baseball’s War Roster; Contact; April 21, 2011. pitchers. Niekro died Oct. 26, 2006 after suffering a brain aneurysm. He was traded by the Padres on December 4 to the Detroit Tigers for Dave Campbell and Pat Dobson. Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 18 September 2020, at 18:19. 20 years later, his 144 wins for Houston still remains the franchise record. In spite of his travels, Joe Niekro will be best remembered as an Astro. Introducing… Joe Niekro. When Tschida told Niekro to empty his pockets, Niekro reached into his pockets, pulled out his hands and threw them in the air. [6] He went 9-9 in 24 games pitched with a 2.82 ERA in 166 innings while striking out 77 batters and walking 47. His legacy lives on through The Joe Niekro Foundation created by his only daughter, Natalie. He won the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award and was runnerup to Bruce Sutter in the Cy Young voting. Tom Rataiczak, Executive Secretary of the OVAC, announced that Bridgeport’s Joe Niekro and Martins Ferry’s Larry Duck are the honorees for the decade of the 1960s while Mike Wright of Wellsville and Less Browne of East Liverpool have received the accolades for the 1970s. 35 years later, he has held onto the record, as Roy Oswalt fell one win short of tying him for the record. His 221 career wins make him one of the most successful knuckleball pitchers of all time. That achievement speaks volumes for the value of this man to the history of Major League baseball in Houston. He also made the National League All-Star team in 1979, a season in which he led the league with his 21 wins and five shutouts, won the TSN Pitcher of the Year Award, and ended second in voting for the Cy Young Award behind Bruce Sutter. On June 7, he was drafted in the third round of the draft by the Chicago Cubs. 1985 was a mixed year of benefits and downsides for Niekro. On May 29, 1976, Niekro hit the only big league, On July 2, 1970, while with the Tigers, Niekro had a. He pitched for seven teams during his career, with 11 seasons as a member of the Houston Astros. He was honored as an All-Eastern Ohio baseball selection. On June 9th, he became the all-time winningest pitcher in Astros history, breaking a tie with Larry Dierker (137) by weaving a complete game shut out of the San Francisco Giants at the Astrodome while allowing just two hits. It was the sixth and final time he faced 1,000 batters. JOE NIEKRO (Bridgeport, Class of 1962) The younger half of the most successful brothers pitching tandem in Major League Baseball history, Joe carved his pro niche after distinguishing himself on the mound at the prep and collegiate levels. The video of this made a lot of sports-highlight shows and is a common "blooper" clip today. THREE ATHLETES who starred on the gridiron while a fourth who went on to star in Major League Baseball are the latest four selections into the OVAC Hall of Fame. The most successful practitioners of the knuckleball were Phil and Joe Niekro, who combined for 539 wins over their respective careers to become the most successful brother pitching combination in major league history. But was Joe Namath really a Hall of Fame quarterback? Sign up today for our Knuckle Up Newsletter! Explanation of Similarity Scores; Transactions. [2] For the year, he went 14–10 while throwing 177.1 innings on a 4.31 ERA while having 65 strikeouts. Niekro was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the seventh round of the 1966 amateur draft, but he did not sign with the club. Franchise History (144), © Texas Baseball Facing the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, he went seven innings while allowing two runs on eight hits in the 2-0 loss.