Mike Wagner was drafted in the 11^thRound in 1971 by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where the team looked at him as a potential Wide Receiver.  They moved the product of Western Illinois to Safety, and it seemed to be the correct decision.

2020 can just go away.

It was announced this morning that Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher, Phil Niekro, passed away last night at the age of 81.  This makes him the seventh Hall of Fame inductee to pass away this year following the deaths of Lou Brock, Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, Joe Morgan and Tom Seaver.

The master of the knuckleball debuted in 1964 as a member of the Milwaukee Braves.  Three years later, he was a permanent fixture of the Braves rotation, winning the ERA Title in 1967 (1.87) and going to his first All-Star Game in 1969.  Niekro was second in Cy Young voting that year, and would be third in 1973.

Niekro’s knuckleball allowed him to stay a productive player well into the 70s and early 80s.  Playing with Atlanta until 1983, he had three more top-ten Cy Young finishes, and appeared in three more All-Star Games. Niekro was also a five-time Gold Glove winner with the Braves.

Released by Atlanta, Niekro signed with the New York Yankees, and defied age where at 45 years old, he went to his fifth All-Star Game.  Niekro played until 1987, finishing with Cleveland, Toronto and one final game in Atlanta.  He left the Majors with an overall record of 318-274 with 3,342 Strikeouts.

The Baseball Hall of Fame would induct Niekro in 1997, his fifth year on the ballot.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, fans and family of Phil Niekro.

The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted John Henry Johnson in 1953, but he elected to go north instead, where he played for the Calgary Stampeders for a year.  Johnson returned to the United States but signed with the San Francisco 49ers. After three years in the Bay Area, he was traded to Detroit, and three years after that, the Steelers traded for him, finally getting the Running Back they took 18^thOverall seven years before.

Dwight White was Pittsburgh’s 1971 Fourth Round Pick from East Texas, and he would play the entirety of his ten-year career wearing the black and yellow.