NEW YORK - CIRCA 1985: Pitcher Phil Niekro #35 of the New York Yankees poses for this portrait before a Major League Baseball game circa 1985 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Niekro played for the Yankees from 1984-85. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
The Yankees family lost Hall of Famer Phil Niekro overnight.
Phil Niekro is better remembered for his career with the Atlanta Braves than for his still-effective twilight in the mid-80s with the Yankees in the Bronx.
But the Hall of Famer is best remembered for carrying on the legacy of one specific, magical pitch, holding Hoyt Wilhelm’s torch and elevating the knuckleball to an identity — after all, he’s forever “Knucksie.