FILE - In this March 13, 2017, file photo, former MLB pitcher and Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro waves to fans after he was introduced before a spring training baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates in Kissimmee, Fla. Niekro, who pitched well into his 40s with a knuckleball that baffled big league hitters for more than two decades, mostly with the Braves, has died after a long fight with cancer, the team announced Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020. He was 81. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Ohio Valley native and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro died Saturday night at home during his sleep in suburban Atlanta. Affectionately known as ‘Knucksie,’ he was 81 years old.

Niekro spent most of his 24-year career with the Atlanta Braves. The righthander baffled opposing hitters — and even some catchers — with his patented knuckleball for 318 wins and 3,342 strikeouts, along with his younger brother Joe who died in 2006 at the age of 61 from a brain aneurysm, are the winningest brother combo in MLB history with 539 victories.

Niekro was born April 1, 1939 in Blaine, Ohio, and graduated from Bridgeport High School in 1957. Members of the school district mourned his loss.

“The Bridgeport Exempted Village School District is saddened to hear of the passing of one of our great graduates, Phil Niekro,” Superintendent Brent Ripley said. “Phil left an outstanding legacy not only at Bridgeport, but in Major League Baseball, with his family, his friends and those that had the pleasure of meeting him.

“Phil always had a great story to share with those he spoke with and will be deeply missed by everyone in our Bridgeport family.”

Long-time friend Don Cash II said Niekro “was Mr. Bulldog, as genuine of a person as there ever was.”

“When Brian Schambach and I started The Niekro Classic Alumni Golf Tournament in the late 1990s,” Cash said, “whatever we asked of him he was always accommodating to ensure its success.

“It started a long friendship and we always looked forward to the night before the tournament, when we would sit out on the porch at Belmont Hills Country Club and share a few ‘sodas’ and tell stories,” he added. “He always wanted to know what was going on back home.

“He would meet someone for the first time and in a matter of minutes was telling jokes and laughing with that person as if he knew them all his life.”

Jerry Moore, president of Bridgeport Exempted Village School District Board of Education, mentioned Niekro’s philanthropic nature.

“The district is very sorry to hear of Phil’s passing,” Moore said. “Phil was a very kind and generous person to our school district through his monetary contributions and most importantly his friendship to all.”

Niekro pitched for the Braves, both in Milwaukee and Atlanta, the Indians, Yankees and Blue Jays late in his career, which ended in 1987 at the age of 48. His final start came with Atlanta. He was inducted into the Cooperstown shrine in 1997.

His career began in 1964 as a member of the Milwaukee Braves when he had 10 relief appearances. He finally became a starter in 1967, the Braves’ second year in Atlanta, and went 11-9 with a microscopic 1.87 ERA.

Niekro hurled a no-hitter in 1973, but his most memorable game came on the final weekend of the 1982 season. The 43-year-old pitched a three-hit shutout and helped his own cause with a two-run homer in the eighth inning that led the Braves to a key 4-0 win over San Diego.

Wheeling Central graduate Mark Bowman, who has covered the Atlanta Braves for MLB.com for the last 20 years, had many interactions with Niekro during his reporting career.

The majority of their conversations started with the Braves, but quickly transitioned back to the Ohio Valley.

“Phil always appreciated talking about and hearing about the Ohio Valley,” Bowman said. “I would see (via social media) that Bridgeport or Martins Ferry or Bellaire or Wheeling Central had done something and mention it to him and we talked about some baseball camps I worked that Steve Wojcik ran for (Tom Bechtel). I can’t say we had long conversations, but he was such a good guy and absolutely loved the valley.”

It didn’t take long, according to Bowman, for Niekro to point out the respect and admiration he had for the late Bill Van Horne, the longtime sports editor of the Wheeling News-Register.

“Bill Van Horne was someone that Phil definitely loved and respected,” Bowman said. “He truly appreciated what Bill did to bring his story and all of the Ohio Valley products’ stories back to the Ohio Valley.”

Though he’s never attended, Bowman was well aware of the annual Niekro Scramble.

“Phil would always talk about how much he loved going back home for his golf tournament,” Bowman said.

Bowman exchanged text messages with Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker on Sunday after learning of Niekro’s passing.

“(Snitker) told me it had been about three weeks since he’d heard from Phil,” Bowman confessed. “He did say he had heard from him during the (MLB) playoffs and Phil wished them luck in the NLCS. I just hope he was able to live every day as best he could because he was truly a class act and a great ambassador for the game of baseball.”

Niekro won 20 games three times in a season and is the last pitcher to have 20 wins and 20 losses in the same season when he went 21-20 in 1979. At the age of 40, he had a career-high 44 starts that season, completing 23 of them. His ERA was 3.39 as the Braves finished a dismal 66-94.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy, sons Philip, John and Michael, and two grandchildren, Chase and Emma.