Baseball | 8/6/2019 9:28:00 AM
HOUSTON – West Liberty Hall of Famer and former major league baseball standout Joe Niekro was inducted as a charter member of the Houston Astros Hall of Fame prior to Saturday night's game against the Seattle Mariners at Minute Maid Park.
Niekro helped pitch the Hilltoppers to the 1964 NAIA World Series championship and also excelled on the basketball court before embarking on a 22-year professional baseball career with seven different teams.
The Ohio Valley native spent half of his career with the Astros and was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball for much of that time. Here's his info from Saturday's induction ceremony:
"The Astros all-time franchise leader in career wins with 144, Joe Niekro pitched in 11 seasons with the Astros as part of a 22-year career in the Majors. While the knuckleballer found moderate success prior to joining the Astros, he blossomed into a true ace with Houston. Over a seven-year stretch from 1977-83, Niekro was one of the game's elite pitchers, leading the National League in innings pitched (1,857) while ranking second in strikeouts (1,228) in that span. Niekro set a single-season franchise record for wins in 1979, going 21-11 with a 3.00 ERA while being named to the NL All-Star team. Niekro ultimately made 301 career starts for Houston, the second-most in franchise history, while his career 3.22 ERA with the club ranks fourth all-time."
Joining Niekro in the Astros' inaugural Hall of Fame class were: Bob Aspromonte, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Jose Cruz, Larry Dierker, Gene Elston, Joe Morgan, Shane Reynolds, J.R. Richard, Nolan Ryan, Mike Scott, Jim Umbricht, Don Wilson, Jimmy Wynn and broadcaster Milo Hamilton.
Niekro, who passed away in 2006, and his older brother, Phil, combined to set a major league record for pitching wins by brothers with 539 career victories. Joe also holds the major league record for the longest interval between his major league debut (April 16, 1967) and World Series appearance (Oct. 21, 1987).
