Watched a short bio interview of Phil years ago and never forgot his story of being signed by the Milwaukee Braves back in the 1950's. A Braves scout visited the Niekro home in a small mining town in southeast Ohio. The scout told Phil's dad that the Braves were very high on his son and wanted him to sign to a contract for five hundred dollars! The old man, a low-wage miner all of his life, balked at that figure and said to the scout, "I'm sorry, but I just don't have that kind of money."
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