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 Minnesota Twins will host "Brain Aneurysm Awareness Day" at Target Field on July 31, 2010. 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, Minnesota Twins alumni, Dan Gladden and Tim Laudner, along with Robert Brown, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist and brain aneurysm specialist.

During the game, fans will 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. A portion of the night's proceeds will go to brain aneurysm research at Mayo Clinic. It is with great pleasure that the Minnesota Twins bring this public awareness campaign to Target Field.

For further questions, please contact:
Natalie Niekro - President/Founder - The Joe Niekro Foundation - 602-318-1013 - nniekro@joeniekrofoundation.org

Bryan Donaldson - Director/Community Relations - The Minnesota Twins - 612-659-3501 - bryandonaldson@twinsbaseball.com

Elizabeth Rice - Public Affairs - Mayo Clinic - 507-284-5005 - newsbureau@mayo.edu

If you would like to help or find out more about the foundation, visit www.joeniekrofoundation.org.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.