1977 Topps Baseball #116 - Joe Niekro

• Joe Niekro started the 1977 season as a reliever. After the All Star break Joe was put in the Houston starting rotation and remained there (for the most part) until his trade to the New York Yankees in 1985.
• Although Joe died suddenly of a brain aneurysm in 2006, his knuckleball lives on with a girl he coached in little league. She is now 12 years old and has had a lot of success with the knuckleball that  Joe taught her before he passed away.
• 1977 Stats: 13-8, 5 saves, 3.04 ERA in 44 games (14 starts)
• 1977 Highlights:
• July 29 - Pitched a 4-hit shutout against the Chicago Cubs. The Astros won the game 1-0. 
• Aug 24 - Allowed one run and five hits in a complete game 3-1 win over the NL East leading Philadelphia Phillies.
• Aug 30 - Pitched his sixth complete game in eight starts and earned the win in Houston's 6-2 win over the New York Mets
• Other card blogs: 1971, 1973, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988

This post originally appeared on http://baseball1977.blogspot.com