1981 Donruss, Phil Niekro

#328 Phil Niekro

I was going to post the first card from 2002 today. But, I had this card waiting for me in the mailbox when I got off of work and I figured that there wasn't any better time to post it. So here is an '81 Donruss Phil Niekro.

One thing that caught me by surprise when I was looking at Phil's stats is how long he played for Atlanta. When I started collecting cards in the mid-eighties, it seems like Phil was with a different team every year. I guess that I always figured that he bounced around like that his whole career. I had no idea that he pitched for Atlanta from 1964 to 1983. That is a pretty good tenure. I guess I should have known better considering that there is a statue of Knucksie in front of Turner Field. They don't just make those things for anybody.

Phil won 318 Major League games, was a three-time 20 game winner, five-time Gold Glover, and made five All Star teams. He only played in two of the All Star games, but he recorded a save in his first one in 1969.

I sent this card to Phil on the 22nd, so it took fifteen days to get back to me. I included a ten dollar check with the request. I figured that if I could spend ten bucks on Andre Dawson, I could spen ten bucks on Phil Niekro as well. I think that a ten dollar check may make its way to Rollie Fingers before long.

'81 Donruss Tracker: 55/100