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Phil Niekro was born on April 1, 1939. Five years to the day later Rusty Staub entered the world. In terms of WAR, the two are first and second all-time among April Fools’ Day babies.

The first big leaguer born on the initial day of April was the National Association’s John McMullin. Born in 1849, the outfielder and pitcher played in the NA for four seasons.

A total of 58 major leaguers were born on April 1st between 1849 and the close the millennium in 1999.

In the collection is this autographed 1968 Topps card featuring Staub as a member of the Houston Astros.

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Before Phil Niekro embarked on his big league career he was a standout athlete in Ohio. Born in Blaine, Ohio, Niekro attended Bridgeport High School where he played baseball, basketball, and football.

As a prep hurler, Niekro went 17-1. His only loss came as a freshman in 1954. The 1-0 defeat came at the hands of Tiltonsville on a home run by fellow Cooperstown man Bill Mazeroski.

Four week later the Pirates signed Maz.

In the collection is this contract between World Series hero Bill Mazeroski and Picture Pal. Maz agrees to have his likeness represented with his facsimile signature. The two-sided contract is dated March 7, 1963.

For more on Mazeroski, click here.

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After starring as a high school pitcher, Phil Niekro has aspirations of playing the game professionally. The two closest big league teams, the Indians and the Pirates showed no interest.

The following July he showed up for the Milwaukee Braves tryout five miles from his home. Scouts liked what they saw enough to offer him a contract.

Niekro began pitching professionally for the low D McCook, Nebraska Braves in 1959. The following season he got promoted to Single-A Jacksonville of the South Atlantic League.

Shown here is his contract with the Jacksonville Braves for 1960 for $400 per month. By the end of the season Niekro worked his way up to Triple-A.

He pitched well in ’61 and ’62 before joining the US Army and pitching at the Fort Knox base. Niekro’s 11-5 record for Triple-A Denver of Pacific Coast League in ’64 earned him a big league call up.

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Jacksonville, Florida became a professional baseball city in 1904. The newly-formed South Atlantic League began a long history of minor league baseball in Jacksonville with the Jays.

Since then many leagues and teams have played in Jacksonville. The city boasts a rich tradition in baseball.

Shown here is the signature page of Phil Niekro’s 1960 contract with the Jacksonville Braves. Niekro signed it 16 days after his 21st birthday.

Four 300-game winners pitched for Jacksonville before finding greatness. In addition to Niekro, Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, and Randy Johnson called Jacksonville home.

Niekro appeared in 38 contests for Jacksonville. He made 3 starts, 35 relief appearances and had a 6-4 record with a 2.77 ERA. By the time he left baseball’s highest level he had 318 wins to his credit.

Seaver’s lone minor league campaign came in 1966 with the Jacksonville Suns of the International League. He finished his big league career with 311 victories.

The Florida city was Ryan’s last stop before making the majors. His only decision in three games with the 1967 Suns was a win. The Express leads all Jacksonville pitchers with 324 MLB wins.

The flame-throwing Johnson threw for the 1987 Jacksonville Expos. He won 11 games for the Double-A club before claiming 303 wins in the majors.

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Phil Niekro’s big league career spanned from 1964 until 1987. The Milwaukee Braves tried him as a reliever during his first three seasons. In his first 79 games he made just one start.

In 1967 Niekro made 20 starts along with 26 relief appearances. Pitching in 207 innings – more than his previous three campaigns combined – Niekro responded.

His final stats in ’67 included 10 complete games, 9 saves, a league-leading 1.87 earned run average. It began a run of 19 consecutive double-digit win years save the strike-shortened 1981 season.

Along the way he recorded nine seasons of at least 5.0 WAR. A three-time 20-game winner, Niekro was a workhorse.

In four seasons he pitched over 300 innings innings, leading the NL each time. Niekro remained with the Braves for 20 seasons, winning 268 contests.

In October of ’83 he was granted free agency and signed with the Yankees for ’84. The knuckleballer’s two years in the Big Apple featured 32 wins and his final All Star appearance.

The right-hander played for the Indians and Blue Jays before returning to Atlanta for the final start of his illustrious career.

He finished with 318 wins and 3,342 strikeouts, and was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1997.

Shown here are two autographed baseball cards, one from 1966 near the start of this career and the other from 1985 only two seasons away from the end.

The early card pictures “Knucksie” with his familiar Braves team while the later image catches him with the Yankees for whom he made his final All Star appearance.

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Three-hundred game winner Phil Niekro pitched in the big leagues for a quarter century. Twenty-one of the seasons came as a National Leaguer.

The knuckleballer won 268 of his 318 games in the Senior Circuit. All the victories came with the Braves, two in Milwaukee, the rest in Atlanta.

In this letter Phil recalls a visit to Dodger Stadium as he wishes a fan well.

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Phil Niekro’s 21 years in a Braves uniform ended with him high on the franchise’s pitching leaderboard.

The knuckleballer appeared in a Braves-record 740 games. His 268 wins and 89.6 WAR stand third all-time for the Bravos behind both Kid Nichols and Warren Spahn.

Only Spahn made more starts or pitched more innings; John Smoltz is the lone Atlanta hurler with more strikeouts.

It’s no wonder that a bronze statue of the Niekro has stood outside of three Atlanta stadiums.

Shown here is a sheet signed by Niekro and his 1968 Braves teammates. Notice the signatures of Hall of Famer Joe Torre, batting champion Billy Goodman and baseball lifers Felipe Alou and Bob Uecker.

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Phil Niekro entered the 300-win club in style. On October 6, 1984, Niekro earned a complete-game 8-0 victory. At 46 years, 188 days old, he became the oldest to throw a shutout.

Niekro fired his gem while throwing only three of his trademark knuckleballs. He relied on changeups, curveballs and a couple of screwballs until the final out.

Former teammate Jeff Burroughs came to bat with two out in the 9th. Niekro had yet to throw a knuckler.

“I figured if there’s any way I’m going to win my 300th by striking the guy out, I was going to do it with the pitch that won the first game for me,” Niekro told the Hartford Courant.

After getting strike one on the first pitch, Niekro threw three consecutive knuckleballs. Burroughs took the first one for a ball, then watched the second one sail over the plate for strike two.

On Niekro’s third and final knuckleball of the afternoon Burroughs whiffed to end the game. With the gem, Niekro became the oldest hurler to record a complete-game shutout.

Phil held the mark 23 years. On May 7, 2010 Jamie Moyer twirled a two-hit shutout at 47 years, 170 days of age.

In the collection is this Jamie Moyer autographed Strat-O-Matic card from 1996. Bucknell University math major Hal Richman originated the Strat-O-Matic game in 1961.

Advertised in Sports Illustrated and sold out of Richman’s basement, Strat-O-Matic gave its players the ability to make managerial decisions based on MLB statistics.

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On October 6, 1984 Phil Niekro earned his 300th win. Eight months later he spent the 4th of July celebrating his 3,000th strikeout.

The knuckleballer is one of ten pitchers in the two-milestone club. Walter Johnson was the first while Randy Johnson was the most recent and quite likely last.

In between Niekro and seven other Hall of Fame hurlers joined the list. They include Gaylord Perry, Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton, Tom Seaver, Roger Clemens, and Greg Maddux.

Shown here is the Big Train’s handwritten letter to Hall of Fame executive Ford Frick. Dated September 4, 1934, it thanks Frick for his lifetime pass.

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Phil and Joe Niekro hold a special place in baseball history. The knuckleballers combined to win 539 games — the most by a brother combination in big league history.

When Phil won a ball game on June 1, 1987 it was the 530th victory in the combined careers of the Niekros breaking the record previously held by Jim and Gaylord Perry. Joe earned the last win by a Niekro on April 12, 1988, pushing the mark to 539.

Shown here is a 1983 Topps card signed by the Niekros.

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Phil Niekro received baseball’s highest honor when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997. Selected by the writers in his 5th years on the ballot, he was joined by Veterans Committee choices Tommy Lasorda, Nellie Fox, and Willie Wells.

The letter above dated September 13, 1999 is written by Lasorda on Dodger letter. It references his Cooperstown induction.

“Dear Jim, Baseball and the Dodgers have been very good to me. In 1997 I became the 14th manager and the 15th Dodger to be elected to the Hall of Fame. It was one of the proudest days of my life! Best wishes. Sincerely, Tommy Lasorda, Senior Vice President”.

A four-time pennant winning skipper with two World Series titles, Lasorda finished his managerial career with a 1,599-1,439.