Joseph Franklin Niekro (/ˈniːkroʊ/ NEE-kroh; November 7, 1944 – October 27, 2006) was an American professional baseball pitcher.

Niekro started the following season's Opening Day game for the Cubs at Crosley Field against the Cincinnati Reds.

Niekro was traded along with Gary Ross and Frankie Librán from the Cubs to the expansion San Diego Padres for Dick Selma on April 24, 1969.

He was traded by the Padres on December 4 to the Detroit Tigers for Dave Campbell and Pat Dobson.

Joe threw harder than his brother Phil and could set up batters nearly as effectively with his fastball in combination with his excellent changeup.

He also made the National League All-Star team in 1979, a season in which he led the league with his 21 wins and five shutouts, won the TSN Pitcher of the Year Award, and ended second in voting for the Cy Young Award behind Bruce Sutter.

[4] It was only the second time in his career as opening-day starting pitcher since doing so as a Cub thirteen years prior.

He appeared in Game 2 of the 1981 National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitching eight scoreless innings, although Joe Sambito ended up being the winning pitcher for the Astros as they won in the 11th inning, though the Dodgers would win the series in five games.

He struck out a career-high 130 batters while walking 64 and leading all of Major League Baseball with 19 wild pitches.

He was Opening Day starter again for the 1983 season, going just three innings against the Dodgers while allowing six runs on eight hits in a 16–7 loss.

[8] In his penultimate year with the Astros, he went 16–12 with a 3.04 ERA while once again leading all of baseball in games started with 38, pitching 248+1⁄3 innings while striking out 127 batters and walking 89.

On June 9, he became the all-time winningest pitcher in Astros history, breaking a tie with Larry Dierker (137) by weaving a complete game shut out of the San Francisco Giants at the Astrodome while allowing just two hits.

Niekro said he was filing his nails in the dugout, but American League president Bobby Brown did not believe him, and ordered the 10-game suspension.

[18] Tschida revealed in 2021 that "[Joe] had a hunk of sandpaper trimmed and glued to the palm of his left hand.

The Joe Niekro Foundation, created by his daughter Natalie, is committed to supporting patients and families, research, treatment and awareness of brain aneurysms, AVMs, and hemorrhagic strokes.

The non-profit organization provides education on the risk factors, causes, and treatment of these conditions, while funding the advancement of neurological research.