![Braves Hall of Famer Phil Niekro dies at 81 after battling cancer](https://www.detroitnews.com/gcdn/presto/2020/12/27/PDTN/5f1e876f-1a32-4668-a602-fded60925be5-PN.jpg?crop=2969,2227,x17,y384)
Knuckleball master, 318-game winner and Hall of Famer Phil Niekro
![Braves Hall of Famer Phil Niekro dies at 81 after battling cancer](https://media.tegna-media.com/assets/WOI/images/db0e034c-efae-4bb1-b9ec-24096bad84d5/db0e034c-efae-4bb1-b9ec-24096bad84d5_1140x641.jpg)
Baseball great Phil Niekro dies of cancer at 81
![Braves Hall of Famer Phil Niekro dies at 81 after battling cancer](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/private/ar_16:9,g_auto,q_auto:good,w_1024,c_fill,f_jpg,dpr_3.0/mlb/gexsdjaec2rihzy9sbfu)
Phil Niekro dies at 81
![Braves Hall of Famer Phil Niekro dies at 81 after battling cancer](https://larrybrownsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/atlanta-braves-logo.jpg)
Hall of Famer Phil Niekro dies -- dead at 81
![Braves Hall of Famer Phil Niekro dies at 81 after battling cancer](https://media.wcnc.com/assets/CCT/images/42ec8830-5137-4ebd-9eae-02dce1800035/42ec8830-5137-4ebd-9eae-02dce1800035_1920x1080.jpg)
Baseball Hall of Famer, Phil Niekro, dies at 81
![Braves Hall of Famer Phil Niekro dies at 81 after battling cancer](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MzxrKO-yVV8/maxresdefault.jpg)
Phil Niekro Dies: Hall Of Fame Knuckleball Pitcher Was 81 – Deadline
![Braves Hall of Famer Phil Niekro dies at 81 after battling cancer](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/a4/o/2020/12/27/a4459c5688f245e5b7d0297206c13bcc_md.jpg)
Famed Knuckleball Pitcher Phil Niekro Dead at 81
![Braves Hall of Famer Phil Niekro dies at 81 after battling cancer](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/12/28/sports/28mlb-kepner-niekro-1/28mlb-kepner-niekro-1-articleLarge-v2.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)
With Phil Niekro's Death, Baseball Has Lost the Knuckleball and
![Braves Hall of Famer Phil Niekro dies at 81 after battling cancer](https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/2021/07/24/63f0982d-e2dd-4088-aa79-ba3fb852d2e5/0713-bowden-00-14-50-07-still007.jpg?width=320&height=180)
Braves sign Hall of Famer Phil Niekro's nephew, J.J. Niekro, as
![Braves Hall of Famer Phil Niekro dies at 81 after battling cancer](https://nbcsports.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/52a93cd/2147483647/strip/false/crop/2382x1755+0+0/resize/1486x1095!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnbc-sports-production-nbc-sports.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fd1%2F20%2F0653e04fe62069dcbffbd9208a67%2Fgettyimages-662037894.jpg)
Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro dies at 81 - NBC Sports
![Braves Hall of Famer Phil Niekro dies at 81 after battling cancer](https://www.ajc.com/resizer/WRHd_2_tD6-sUNKR7BPxi0SJCeM=/fit-in/850x480/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/6PMJG2B4BNDVDN4FIDPA3WQALQ)
Phil Niekro, Atlanta Braves legend known for knuckleball pitch
![Braves Hall of Famer Phil Niekro dies at 81 after battling cancer](https://www.ajc.com/resizer/x-SDxMARmVRzAnapFY7f6V-vtWE=/fit-in/850x480/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/OCOD4JFRBBFZBFGS64GQKCJ5GM.jpg)
Phil Niekro, Atlanta Braves legend known for knuckleball pitch