A Gift to His Father, Niekro Twirls No-Hitter
Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro owed it all to his father.
While kids often throw a baseball errantly regardless of their grip, Niekro’s father embraced the inconsistency and taught him and his brother (former major league pitcher Joe Niekro) how to throw the unpredictable pitch at a young age.
“Catching Niekro’s knuckleball was great,” 2003 Ford C. Frick Award winner Bob Uecker once said. “I got to meet a lot of important people. They all sit behind home plate.”
Early in Niekro’s career, a minor league manager told him to “throw the knuckler or go home.” After he trusted the manager – and the pitch – he ascended to the majors and became known as “Knucksie.”
On Aug. 5, 1973, Niekro’s quirky pitch etched him into the record books. The 6-foot-1 righty threw a no-hitter in a 9-0 win over the San Diego Padres.
The Braves relocated from Milwaukee in 1966, making Niekro’s feat the first in Atlanta history.
“I admit that I was nervous,” Niekro told United Press International. “I tried hard not to do anything different in the closing innings. I mixed in fastballs and sliders with my knuckler for the first five or six innings. But, after that, I stuck mainly with my knuckleball.”
Only one San Diego batted ball resulted in a base runner. In the third inning, Rich Morales, the Padres’ eight-hole hitter, chopped a grounder to shortstop Marty Perez. Perez’s throw pulled the first baseman off the bag, and the bang-bang play was ruled an error.
“I’m not trying to take anything away from Niekro’s no-hitter,” Padres manager Don Zimmer told UPI. “He pitched a great game. But, if we had already had a hit at that point, I think that would have been called a hit.”
Regardless, Niekro and his knuckleball eluded hard contact all night. He induced nine groundouts and seven popouts. He also collected three strikeouts and issued four walks.
All game, Braves catcher Paul Casanova said he was “worried about catching the ball.” Casanova caught his only career no-hitter that night.
“It was pretty hard to hit a ball that Casanova (couldn’t) even catch,” Zimmer said.
As the 34-year-old Niekro celebrated his accomplishment, he couldn’t help but think of his father, Phillip.
The man who taught him his signature pitch was in critical condition due to blood clots in his lungs.
“I didn’t think about (the no-hitter) during the game,” Niekro said. “But, when the game was over, I thought about my father in the hospital and how that game might lift his spirits.
“This game came at the best time of my life.”
Niekro continued to baffle batters en route to the Hall of Fame. The knuckleballer pitched 24 seasons and logged 5,404 innings, 3,342 strikeouts and 318 wins. Niekro wasn’t just durable; he was often untouchable.
He was elected to Cooperstown in 1997.
“Trying to hit him,” said Yankees All-Star outfielder Bobby Murcer, “is like trying to eat Jell-O with chopsticks.”
Noah Douglas is the 2025 communications intern in the Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Leadership Development
