For the Intelligencer
FILE - In this March 29, 2007, file photo, Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro holds a knuckleball at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland. Niekro, who pitched well into his 40s with a knuckleball that baffled big league hitters for more than two decades, mostly with the Atlanta Braves, has died after a long fight with cancer, the team announced Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020. He was 81. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
Ohio Valley native and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro passed away Saturday night at home during his sleep in suburban Atlanta. Affectionately known as ‘Knucksie,’ he was 81 years old.