Joe Niekro was part of the fabric of major league baseball for a very long time. He pitched from 1967 to 1988, 22 seasons, notching 221 wins. He was also one of the most successful knuckleball pitchers of his era.

Niekro was born Nov. 7, 1944, in Martins Ferry, Ohio. He was drafted in the third round by the Chicago Cubs in 1966 and was in the majors by 1967, going 10-7 as a 22-year-old rookie.

Niekro used a fastball and slider in his first few years in the majors, going 24-17 with the Cubs in 1967-68. Niekro spent 1969-74 with the Cubs, Padres, Tigers and Braves.

It was in Atlanta he started working seriously on the knuckleball which his father had taught him and his older brother, Phil, was using with great success. Mastering the pitch would lead to the most successful seasons of his career.

Joe Niekro is mostly remembered for his days with the Houston Astros, which he joined at the age of 30 at the beginning of the 1975 season after being purchased from the Braves. Over half his career innings and wins came with the Astros.

He notched 20+ victories two times during that span, when he was 34 and 35 years old in 1979 and 1980. In 1979, Niekro led the National League in Wins and Shutouts and was largely responsible for leading the Astros to the NLCS playoffs.

In 1979, when the Astros contended until the final week of the season for the National League West Division title, Niekro was 21-11, tying for the National League lead in victories with his brother, Phil. The next year, Niekro was 20-12, becoming the first Houston pitcher to win 20 games in a season twice.

Niekro spent the next three years with the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins.  It was with the Twins that Joe pitched in a World Series game for the only time in his career, working two shutout innings in Game 4 against St. Louis. In his career in three postseason games with the Astros and Twins, Niekro worked 20 innings and allowed no earned runs.

Niekro retired in 1988 with a lifetime record of 221-204.  Post retirement, Niekro spent his time devoted to helping his son Lance, pursue his baseball career, never missing one of Lance’s practices or games.  Joe’s effort paid off, Lance was the 2nd round draft pick by the San Francisco Giants in 2000. Now, Lance follows in his father’s footsteps, only as a power hitter,  instead of a knuckleballer, in the major leagues.

Joe, along with his brother Phil, hold the record for the most wins by two brothers, with 539, in the history of baseball and Joe holds the record of the winningest pitcher in Houston Astros history.  In 2005, Niekro was inducted into the Texas Hall of Fame.

On October 26th, 2006, Niekro suffered a brain aneurysm and lost his life the following day.  In addition to Lance, Niekro is survived by a daughter, Natalie, his second wife, Debbie, and their son Joseph James (JJ).