Happy 79th birthday to Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, who threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres in 1973.
Niekro tossed his no-no on Sunday, August 5, 1973 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium for a 9-0 victory. The knuckleballer struck out four and walked three.
The accomplishment would have put the Niekros in the brotherly no-nos club had brother Joe been able to complete his three years earlier.
The Detroit Tigers’ Joe Niekro took a no-hitter into the ninth inning on Thursday, July 2, 1970, when no-no killer Horace Clarke broke it up with a one-out infield hit. That was the summer that Clarke killed three ninth-inning no-nos-in-progress within the span of a month.
The only siblings to accomplish brotherly no-nos were Ken and Bob Forsch.
