The front: Niekro delivers a pitch at Shea Stadium. The background seems a little skewed. I think this may be one of those cases where the player was at an angle, but Topps oriented the photo so they are straight up-and-down, causing the background to be tilted. This game must have been May 25, 1980. Niekro pitched a complete game but lost 3-0, when the Mets broke a scoreless tie in the eighth with and RBI double by John Stearns, followed by a 2-run HR by Mike Jorgensen.
The back: 17 seasons in the major leagues, and still 7 more to go.
The player: Hall-of-Famer Phil Niekro was arguably the best knuckleball pitcher of all time. He won 318 games in his 24-year career. The ace of the Braves' staff from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, he won the 1967 NL ERA title and had three 20-win seasons, leading the league in wins twice. He stuck out 3,342 batters, including an NL-high 262 in 1967.
The man: After his career he famously managed the all-female Colorado Silver Bullets. He also occasionally advised young knuckleball pitchers, and worked for a sporting goods company. He died of cancer in 2020.
My collection: I have 66 of his cards, from 1966 to 1988. I would be interested in trading for 1964 Topps #541 and 1965 Topps #461.
41 years old at the time. Looks 65!
ReplyDeleteI also like the smirk on his face like he's saying "I'm going to keep doing this for nearly another decade!"
DeleteNiekro and Murphy were pretty much the cement for ATL. during my childhood.
ReplyDeleteA. Pretty cool to see him stick with the Braves for all those years.
ReplyDeleteB. Echoing Jeff's comment. Phil always looked way older than he actually was.