Philip Henry Niekro nicknamed "Knucksie" because of his usage and skill level with the knuckleball, is a former Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.

A native of Blaine, Ohio

Blaine, Ohio

Blaine is an unincorporated community in northern Pease Township, Belmont County, Ohio, United States, along Wheeling Creek. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 43909....

, Niekro attended Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio

Bridgeport, Ohio

Bridgeport is a village in Belmont County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,831 at the 2010 census...

, and was a boyhood friend of NBA

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 Hall-of-Famer John Havlicek

John Havlicek

John J. "Hondo" Havlicek is a retired American professional basketball player who competed for 16 seasons with the Boston Celtics, winning eight NBA titles, half of them coming in his first four seasons....

. Phil and his younger brother, fellow major league pitcher Joe Niekro

Joe Niekro

Joseph Franklin Niekro was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was the younger brother of pitcher Phil Niekro, and the father of Minor League Baseball pitcher Lance Niekro. A native of Blaine, Ohio, Niekro attended Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio and attended West...

, learned to throw a knuckleball from their father Joe Niekro, Sr.