A Big-League Pitcher’s True Legacy
Most of the third-graders attending last week’s funeral
never heard of “Knucksie,” Houston Astros President Tal Smith’s nickname for
major-league pitcher Joe Niekro.
And they might not have realized that the rather prominent
diamond ring Joe wore represented the fact that he pitched in a World Series.
To them, he was just classmate J.J.’s dad, a big guy with a
booming voice, a ready smile and a quick joke. Maybe he liked baseball a little
more than some dads. But aren’t lots of dads sports fanatics?
“Hey, mom,” my son informed me one day after school. “Did
you know that J.J.’s dad is on a baseball card?”
As I glanced over at the students dressed in matching red
St. Stephen Catholic School uniform shirts seated amidst a church filled with
current and former major league ball players, coaches and managers, I saluted
the Rev. Mike Jurran for focusing on the man, not the career in his eulogy as
so much of the national media had done since Joe’s sudden death Oct. 27.
Joe’s older brother, Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro, 67,
agreed when we had a chance to speak after the funeral.
“Baseball was his career, not his life,” said Phil.
It could have been any one of us carrying in a bag of
groceries or performing some other routine task when a brain aneurysm struck us
down. But somehow it seemed even more unfathomable that it was Joe, this
vibrant, larger-than-life character who was the center of attention the moment
he walked into the room. He enjoyed telling stories, entertaining people with
jokes, being the life of the party. As Phil put it: “He enjoyed life.”
And he was especially relishing his retirement years. He and
his wife, Debra, would take daily walks around their neighborhood in Walden Lake Georgia , they’d golf and fish for
snook. And Joe was being fitted for a tuxedo so he could walk his daughter,
Natalie, down the aisle in December.
His faith played a prominent role in his life, something
that brought a great deal of peace to Debra, now left to raise their 8-year-old
son alone. Fingering Joe’s giant wedding band she now wears on a chain around
her neck, she said she knows she’ll be with him again someday. She’s also
comforted knowing that Joe was an organ donor and his gift helped save the
lives of others.
With tears in his eyes, Phil said he was always proud of his
brother.
“I could tell you a million stories,” he said. “He was such
a great guy.”
He recalled the first time they pitched in the major leagues
against one another. Phil was with the Atlanta Braves and Joe with the Chicago
Cubs. Their father, Phil Sr., flew in for the game and was seated directly
behind the umpire. “I think he had a couple of cigars in both hands and he had
his eyes glued to the mound,” said Phil.
The Braves won the game. When Phil and Joe called home to
tell their mother, Henrietta, she said that’s the way it should be, the older
brother should win the first game. “But you let your little brother win next
time,” she told Phil.
“I could just see me explaining to the ball club how I have
to let my brother win the next game,” Phil said, chuckling. Mom got her way,
however. The two brothers pitched against one another nine times in their
careers. Joe won five games, Phil four. Coincidentally, the only homerun Joe
got during his career was off one of his brother’s pitches.
“I never lived that down,” said Phil.
But I doubt if Joe would consider the baseball stats on
ESPN’s Web site his greatest accomplishment. As I hugged Debra and ruffled
J.J.’s hair when they walked into church on Sunday, relieved to see them back
into their routine, I’d be willing to bet that Joe would say his children are
his true legacy.
In the final moments of life, it’s the people you love who
matter the most.
“I don’t know how I’ll walk down the aisle without my dad
there,” Natalie said.
My heart ached for her, knowing how much Joe looked forward
to that day, how he would have cherished that memory.
“Oh, there’s no doubt in my mind. He’ll be there,” I
replied.
D’Ann White is the former editor of The Brandon News.
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