Walking off the field for the final time as a professional, he was engulfed in the adulation of well-wishers who had come to celebrate the unique and legendary career of a man whose path to success was as unpredictable as the pitch that made him famous: it was 34 years ago that the great Phil Niekro returned to the mound for one last start with the Atlanta Braves, the team for whom he had pitched for the greater part of three decades. A team whose apexes of success came not during his tenure, but in the years preceding and following his career.
On not forgetting Phil Niekro
