It was once said that memories are what you make of them.

Well, Phil Niekro has a lot of memories – both good and bad.

However, it is likely that all the memories he is sharing today during a golf scramble bearing his name to benefit his alma mater will be good ones.

The 69-year-old Major League Baseball Hall of Famer was among the 38 foursomes that teed off at Belmont Hills Country Club today in the Niekro Scramble to benefit the Bridgeport Educational Assistance Foundation.

“It’s always good to come back to the Ohio Valley and see all of my friends,” the former Atlanta Braves All-Star pitcher said during a pre-tournament dinner Thursday night at the Outback Restaurant in the Ohio Valley Plaza. “Once I come through the Wheeling Tunnel or down the St. Clairsville (Blaine) hill, I know I’m home.”

Today’s tournament at the spacious layout just west of St. Clairsville marks the 10th anniversary of the well-attended event.

“This is our 10th year and everyone of them have been a sellout,” Niekro explained. “It’s always a good time and it’s for a good cause.”

According to organizer Brian Schambach, a 1975 BHS alumnus, a group was holding a fundraiser for the library some 11 years ago and he asked long-time friend Phil if he did a golf tournament would he (Phil) participate, and if so they’d name it the Niekro Classic.

“Today will be 10 years to the day that we’ve been doing this,” Schambach noted. “So far we’ve raised over $55,000 for the BEAF.”

Never, though, in his wildest dreams did he think his idea would blossom into one of the biggest fundraisers.

“I didn’t think it would become this big, but it has become one of the premier events in the Ohio Valley and Phil has been here every year,” he added. “Even though it’s been 10 years, it just seems like we started it two or three years ago.”

The BEAF provides incentives to Bridgeport High School students that read books. These incentives, according to Schambach, can range from monetary awards to pizza parties, picnics, etc.

“The students get rewarded for the amount of books that they read,” Schambach concluded.

And, of course, Phil has never forgotten his roots.

“I’m just like anybody else that has lived somewhere, moved away and then came back, there’s always going to be memories,” he offered.

Although, the last two times he has returned from his home just outside of Atlanta, he has had a heavy heart.

Last year’s Niekro Scramble had a special tribute to his late brother Joe, and today’s event had a memorial for his late mother, Ivy, who passed away a few weeks ago.

“It’s times like this that you start to remember the good times that you had with your dad, your mother and, especially me with my brother back here. My sister is still doing okay. She’s down in Augusta, Ga., so we get to see each other now and then.

“When you lose most of your family, life goes on because you try and take care of yourself so that you can take care of your wife or husband, children and grandchildren, but memories, I think, are the best thing that anyone can have.”

And, despite all of the good times and memories that he enjoyed in the Ohio Valley, obviously his fondest memory of all was being inducted into the Cooperstown, N.Y., shrine in 1997.

“Oh yea,” he was quick to say. “I was fortunate and lucky enough to play that long (24 seasons) in the big leagues and another five in the minors. That was the highlight for me. I will never ever forget how fortunate and lucky I was to have the opportunity to play Major League baseball. The hardest part wasn’t getting there, though, it was staying there.”

Memories are what you make of them, and Phil Niekro has made the most of his.

North can be reached at knorth@timesleaderonline.com