Phil Niekro, the 'knuckleball master' who is on the Major League Hall of Fame, passed away at 81 years old after suffering from cancer for a long time. He began his major league career in 1964 with the Milwaukee Braves, the predecessor of the Atlanta Braves. Until 1983, he played only for the Braves and became a franchise star, and after moving to the New York Yankees in 1984, he also played for the Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays. He returned to his hometown of Atlanta in 1987 and retired after spending the final season.

Niekro was a pitcher who is well known for knuckle ball, A knuckle ball with so much movement is a ball that confuses not only the batter but also the catcher who catches the ball. With the knuckleball as his main weapon, he recorded 318 wins and 274 losses and an average ERA of 3.35 in 24 seasons in the major leagues. Since 1967, he achieved 14 consecutive wins-200 innings for 14 seasons, and especially in 1974 and 1977-1979, he played more than 300 innings per season and he is ranked 4th in the major league pitching innings.

He has been selected as an All-Star five times, and has also won Gold Gloves five times.