» September 17, 1965: The 1st place Giants lose for the first time in 15 games as Phil Niekro outpitches Juan Marichal. The Braves win 9–1. The Giants will then win their next three games to push their lead to four games over Los Angeles.

» July 4, 1967: Atlanta's Phil Niekro gets the best of rookie brother Joe as the Braves beat the Cubs, 8–3. It is the first decision between the pair.

» June 21, 1968: It's been a bad week for the Cubs, but they end their scoreless streak at 48 innings, tying a ML mark set in 1906, beating the Reds, 3–2, behind Joe Niekro. George Culver is the losing pitcher, allowing the Cubs 1st score in the 3rd inning when he gives up a walk with the sacks full. The five straight shutout losses also ties a league mark. The streak started on June 15, the final eight innings of a loss to Atlanta; 1–0 loss to Phil Niekro in 11 inn; 1–0 loss to Cards Nelson Briles; 4–0 one hitter to Steve Carlton; 1–0 loss to Bob Gibson. During the drought, Fergie Jenkins allows one run in 18 inn and got loss and no decision.

» September 21, 1968: Pittsburgh's Dock Ellis pitches a complete game win over the Cubs, winning 5–1. Phil Niekro allows four runs to take the loss. Cubs reliever Jophrey Brown goes two innings, allowing the other run, in his only ML appearance. His next appearance will be in the opening scene of the movie Jurrasic Park when he is eaten by a raptor. As noted by Scott Flatow, Brown tossed two no-hitters in the minors, losing them both.

» July 13, 1969: In the 3rd meeting between the two brothers, San Diego's Joe Niekro defeats his brother Phil Niekro of the Braves 1–0. Joe is 2–1 over Phil.

» August 19, 1969: Cub Ken Holtzman (14-7) pitches the 5th no-hitter of 1969. Ron Santo's 3-run home run off Phil Niekro provides first-place Chicago with a 3–0 win against Atlanta. Holtzman is the first no-hit hurler with no strikeouts since Sam Jones (on September 4, 1923). LF Billy Williams, with his back against the vines, hauls in Aaron's drive in the 7th to preserve the no-hitter.

» September 9, 1969: Atlanta's Phil Niekro joins the 20-win circle for the first time with a 2–1 defeat of the Dodgers. The victory pulls the Braves into 3rd place, 1 1/2 games from the National League West lead.

» September 30, 1969: Atlanta's 10th straight win, 3–2 over Cincinnati, clinches the National League West pennant. Hoyt Wilhelm saves Phil Niekro' 23rd win by retiring the last six batters. Niekro ends the regular season allowing no sacrifice flies in 284 innings, a record.

» October 4, 1969: The first League Championship Series begin in Atlanta and Baltimore. New York survives home runs by Hank Aaron and Tony Gonzalez off Tom Seaver and scores five runs off Phil Niekro in the 8th to coast home 9–5. Paul Blair's 12th-inning squeeze bunt gives the Orioles a 4–3 win over Minnesota.

» January 25, 1970: Braves ace Phil Niekro undergoes an emergency appendectomy. Niekro won't miss any playing time, but his record will dip from 23-13 to 12-18.

» July 24, 1970: 25th For the 4th time in his career, Billy Williams has the only hit for the Cubs, as he connects safely twice against the Braves Phil Niekro. Each time previously, Williams also had multiple hit games to spoil no-hitters. Niekro coasts to a 9–0 victory over Fergie Jenkins.

» August 6, 1972: Hank Aaron hits his 660th and 661st home runs for the Braves, the most ever hit by one player for the same franchise. Ruth had 659 with the Yankees, 49 with the Red Sox and six with the Braves. Hank's 2nd circuit blast comes in the 10th inning off Don Gullett to beat the Reds, 4–3. Phil Niekro evens his record at 10–10. Phil will go 6–0 against the Reds this year.

» August 21, 1972: Phil Niekro and the Braves beat the Phillies 2–1 in 11 innings to snap Steve Carlton's 15-game winning streak. After retiring 19 batters in a row, Carlton (20–7) puts two runners on in the 11th, before Mike Lum singles home the winner.

» August 5, 1973: Braves knuckleballer Phil Niekro no-hits the Padres 9–0 and improves his record to 11-4. He walks three and strikes out four in recording the 1st no-hitter by the franchise in Atlanta. Ralph Garr has three hits, three runs, and a steal, and Paul Casanova records an inside-the-park homer on a long fly ball missed by LF Gene Locklear.

» August 7, 1973: Two days after Phil Niekro's no-hitter, the Braves purchase Joe Niekro, Phil's pitching brother, from the Tigers.

» June 24, 1975: In Atlanta, Joe Morgan lofts a 3-run homer off Phil Niekro to account for all the scoring as the Reds beat the Braves, 3–0.

» May 29, 1976: The only home run of Joe Niekro's 22-year career comes at the expense of brother Phil Niekro as the Astros tie the Braves in the 7th, then win 4–3.

» April 25, 1977: The Reds score a record-tying 12 runs in the 5th inning off three Braves pitchers (Phil Niekro, Jamie Easterly, and Mike Beard), and 23 in the game, in crushing the Braves, 23–9. George Foster clouts two homers, a double and single, scores five runs and drives home seven to lead Cincy. The previous time 12 runs scored in an inning was September 3, 1926, also allowed by the Braves.

» May 11, 1977: Braves owner Ted Turner gives manager Dave Bristol a 10-day paid leave and takes over as field manager. After the Braves lose again—for the 17th straight—to the Pirates 2–1, with Phil Niekro going to 0–7, Turner is relieved of his new job by NL president Chub Feeney. A league rule prohibits a manager from owning a financial interest in his club. Turner then makes a public plea claiming harassment, but names 3B coach Vern Benson the manager for the May 12th game.

» July 29, 1977: Phil Niekro picks up his 10th win of the year, beating the Pirates 5–3 for the Braves. But he has to strike out four Bucs in the 6th inning to do it. He struck out Dave Parker and Bill Robinson, but after Al Oliver doubled, Rennie Stennett whiffed and reached 1st when the ball eluded the catcher. Omar Moreno then made the 4th K in the inning.

» July 31, 1978: Pete Rose singles off Phil Niekro to extend his streak to 44 games, as the Reds edge the Braves 3–2. Rose ties Willie Keeler's 81-year-old National League record, achieved when foul balls didn't count as strikes.

» May 1, 1979: Phil Niekro earns his 200th career win as the Braves beat the Pirates 5–2. The event is saddened by the collapse of Atlanta's popular GM, Bill Lucas, who will pass away tomorrow.

» August 4, 1979: During a 6–2 loss to the Astros, Braves knuckleballer Phil Niekro sets modern ML records with four wild pitches in one inning (5th) and six in one game.

» September 26, 1979: Atlanta's Phil Niekro notches his 20th win of the season by beating his brother Joe, the National League's only other 20-game winner in 1979, 9–4. The Niekro brothers are the second pair (the other was Jim Perry and Gaylord Perry) to win 20 games in the same year, and Phil Niekro, who finishes at 21-20, is the first pitcher since Wilbur Wood in 1973 to win and lose 20 games the same year, and the first NL pitcher to do so since 1905.

» September 30, 1979: The Niekro brothers each win their 21st game and tie for the National League lead in wins. Phil Niekro wins for the Braves, 7–2, over the Reds, while Houston's Joe Niekro tops the Dodgers, 3–2.

» April 9, 1980: The Reds Tom Seaver is scratched from his Opening Day start against the Braves because of the flu, and his replacement, Frank Pastore, tosses a 3-hit shutout. Braves P Phil Niekro is on the short end of the 9–0 decision. George Foster knocks a 2-run double off Niekro in the first inning, and receives credit for the first game-winning RBI, a newly created ML stat that will survive till the end of the 1988 season.

» July 14, 1980: After fanning the side in the 2nd inning, J.R. Richard leaves after retiring the 1st batter in the 4th. The Houston pitcher complained of nausea, and the next day, Houston will place him on the 21-day DL. The Astros lose today, 2–0, to Atlanta's Phil Niekro.

» July 28, 1982: Atlanta's Phil Niekro (10-3) posts his 250th career win 8–6 over the Padres. The 43-year-old knuckleballer will finish the season 17-4, leading the major leagues in winning percentage.

» August 19, 1982: Scheduled to pitch against the Expos in a home game, Braves' rookie Pascual Perez misses the start of the game when he can't find his way to the ball park. Perez circles on the expressway several times but got lost. He will be given a Braves jacket with the new number I-85 on it. Phil Niekro takes the mound and wins 5–4 to run his record to 11–3.

» September 27, 1982: Atlanta's Phil Niekro shuts out the Giants on two hits 7–0 to push the Braves back into a first-place tie with the Dodgers in the NL West. The Dodgers have lost six straight games.

» October 9, 1982: After losing another game to rain, the Braves Phil Niekro is able to start the 3rd game of the NLCS after only two days rest, but St. Louis wins 4–3.

» September 14, 1983: Nick Esasky's 1st inning grand slam, off Phil Niekro, propels the Reds to a 6–4 win over the visiting Braves.

» January 5, 1984: The Yankees sign veteran free agent Phil Niekro to a 2-year contract, giving the club six starting pitchers. Dave Righetti will move to the bullpen to ease the logjam and to fill the void that will be left by the departure of Rich Gossage, who says he will not re-sign with New York.

» May 23, 1984: At Anaheim, 41,205 watch as Dan Petry and the Tigers clip the Angels, 4–2, to run Detroit's record to 34–5. Detroit has now won 16 straight on the road to tie the American League record of the 1912 Senators. The win goes to Petry (7–1). Losing pitcher is reliever Frank LaCorte, who takes his last ML loss when he gives up a two-run homer in the 7th to Lance Parrish. LaCorte will beat the Yankees Phil Niekro on the 29th for his last win.

» June 18, 1984: With 40,315 on hand in Detroit, Phil Niekro (10–3) stops the Tigers on three hits, 2–1. Kirk Gibson's homer in the first is the only score, while Don Mattingly's double in the 5th drives in the game-winner for New York.

» July 4, 1984: Phil Niekro strikes out five batters in the Yankees 5–0 win over Texas to become the 9th pitcher in ML history to record 3,000 career strikeouts.

» April 8, 1985: At Fenway, 46-year-old Phil Niekro starts for the Yankees, the 2nd oldest pitcher ever to start an Opener: only Jack Quinn, for Brooklyn in 1931, was older at age 47. Boston chases Niekro after four innings and behind the pitching of Oil Can Boyd coasts to a 9–2 win. Niekro walks four in the 3rd inning, including two with the bases loaded, to lose his 7th opener in a row (6 with Atlanta), the worst opening day record ever. Tony Armas, Dwight Evans, and Jim Rice stroke homers for Boston.

» July 2, 1985: Houston's Joe Niekro wins his 200th career game 3–2 over the Padres. Joe and Phil Niekro join Jim Perry and Gaylord Perry as the only pitching brother combinations to win at least 200 games per pitcher.

» August 12, 1985: At Chicago, Phil Niekro goes the route to pick up his 295th win as the Yankees beat the White Sox, 10–4. New York has a 7-run 7th to break the game open with Ron Hassey belting a 2-run homer and RBI single to lead the scoring in the frame.

» October 6, 1985: Phil Niekro finally wins his 300th career game 8–0 over the Blue Jays on the final day of the regular season. He allows four hits in the CG win. At 46, he is the oldest hurler ever to pitch a complete-game shutout.

» March 28, 1986: Four days before his 47th birthday, the Yankees waive pitcher Phil Niekro. He will be signed by the Indians on April 3rd.

» October 4, 1986: Playing for the Indians, Forty-seven-year old Phil Niekro "steals" the first base of his career. With the Tribe at bat in the 8th inning, behind 5–2 against Seattle, there is a runner on 1B when Niekro, wearing a red bandanna over his face, lumbers out of the Cleveland dugout. He rambles towards 2B, diving in headfirst, and ump Vic Voltaggio signals safe. To the delight of the fans, "Knucks" rips the bag out of the ground and triumphantly returns to the dugout with his first steal.

» April 8, 1987: Pitchers Phil Niekro and Steve Carlton of the Indians team up to beat the Blue Jays, 14–3. Niekro wins his 312th and Carlton tosses four innings of relief. It is the first time two 300-game winners have pitched in the same game as teammates.

» June 1, 1987: Phil Niekro wins his 314th career game as Cleveland beats Detroit 9–6, moving the Niekro brothers (Phil and Joe Niekro) past Gaylord Perry and Jim Perry into first place on the all-time brothers' victory list. The Niekros have now combined for 530 career wins.

» July 5, 1987: The knuck is not knuckling and Chicago hands Cleveland's Phil Niekro a 17–0 pasting. Scott Nielsen is the winner.

» September 27, 1987: Phil Niekro makes his final ML appearance and is pounded for five runs in three innings in Atlanta's 15–6 loss to the Giants. Niekro, who had been released earlier in the season by Toronto, agreed to pitch one last game for the Braves, the team he spent his first 19 ML seasons with.

» September 11, 1991: Atlanta's Kent Mercker, Mark Wohlers and Alejandro Pena combine to toss a 1-0 no-hitter against San Diego. It is only the second no-hitter in Atlanta history, following Phil Niekro's 1973 masterpiece over the same Padres.

» July 26, 1992: Nolan Ryan strikes out his 100th batter, reaching that mark for a record 23rd year in a row. He subdues the Orioles 6–2 and passes Phil Niekro as number 12 on the all-time win list with 319. Juan Gonzalez helps with a 450 foot homer to CF—the longest yet at Camden Yards.

» January 6, 1997: Former Atlanta knuckleballer Phil Niekro is elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Niekro receives 80.34% of the vote. Former Dodger hurler Don Sutton falls nine votes short of election.

» August 3, 1997: Phil Niekro, Tommy Lasorda, Nellie Fox, and Willie Wells are inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.