On September 13th, The Houston Astros will honor one of baseball’s most renowned pitchers and former Astro Knuckleballer, Joe Niekro.  Niekro spent 22 years in the major leagues, notching 221 wins and still holds the record, with his brother Phil, of the most successful brother combination in major league history, with 539 wins and the record of the winningest pitcher in Houston Astro history. On October 27, 2006, Joe passed away from a sudden brain aneurysm.  Today, his legacy lives on through The Joe Niekro Foundation, committed to the awareness and funding for aneurysm research and treatment.  To honor this knuckleball legend, The Houston Astros will host “Brain Aneurysm Awareness Night” at Minute Maid Park on September 13, 2011. Attending will be, President and Founder of The Joe Niekro Foundation, Joe’s daughter, Natalie, with a special on field ceremony prior to the game. Natalie will be joined by former teammates, Houston alumni, Larry Dierker, Art Howe and Enos Cabell, along with several aneurysm survivors from the Houston area for a special on field ceremony.  From 5:30-3rd Inning, fans can visit The Joe Niekro Foundation booth on
the concourse and receive a Wanna Get Lucky? t-shirt and autograph from these three former Astros in exchange for a minimum donation of $20.  Wanna Get Lucky? is the foundation’s national awareness  campaign to educate people on the importance of early detection. During the game, fans will also be encouraged to participate in a “Text to Give” campaign by texting the word Strikeout to 20222.  By doing so, a $10 donation to The Joe Niekro Foundation will appear on the donor’s cell phone bill.

Click here to watch the exclusive video that will be shown during the game on September 13th.  Come on Houston, join us in the fight and Knuckle Up with us on the 13th.

From Minute Maid, its off to Kingwood, TX for the 1st Annual Joe Niekro Foundation Golf-A-Thon on September 16th at Kingwood Country Club.   Participants can tee-it-up for 18 or 36 holes, all while raising pledges for the holes they complete from donations secured prior to their play.  With Joe Niekro’s jersey being #36, we encourage all to pay tribute to Joe and sign up for a full day of two rounds of 18.  Avid, as well as the novice golfers, will find this day one filled with fun, excitement and lots of laughs.  Grab your clubs and come join the fun as we compete for pledges on the links.

Its not too late to register, so Click Here to get signed up today!