NORTH PORT, Fla. - On an October morning in 2006, Joe Niekro drove his son, J.J., to St. Stephen Catholic School in Riverview, Florida. To 8-year-old J.J., everything seemed normal.
Soon after the final bell rang at the end of the day, J.J. received his first clue something might be amiss as his best friend’s family picked him up and took him home. That’s kind of weird, he thought. His mom or dad almost always got him. J.J. and his friend played video games at the friend’s house, the final moments before he would experience a cruel tragedy.
The friend’s family took J.J. to the hospital, where he saw his dad, Joe, on life support. Joe soon died of a brain aneurysm, leaving behind a family that included his brother, the now-late Braves Hall of Famer Phil Niekro.
