Phil Niekro: The knuckeballer won more games for the Braves than any other pitcher in the franchise’s first half-century in Atlanta, 268 from 1966 through 1983. Many of the wins came for downtrodden teams that had little chance on days Niekro wasn’t pitching. He went 17-4 as the Braves won the National League West in 1982.

Tommy Nobis: He was the first Falcon, the No. 1 pick of the expansion team’s inaugural NFL draft in 1966. The hard-hitting middle linebacker was a five-time Pro Bowler and the face of the franchise in the Falcons’ opening decade.

Terry Pendleton: He arrived in Atlanta in 1991 from St. Louis and immediately had an MVP season as the Braves went worst-to-first and captivated the city.

Dan Reeves: In 1998, the second of his seven seasons as Falcons coach, Reeves got the franchise where it hadn’t been before and hasn’t been since: the Super Bowl.

Gerald Riggs: Twenty-seven years after Riggs last played for the Falcons, he still holds the franchise record for career rushing yards. He ran for 6,631 from 1982 through 1988, including 4,532 in a three-season stretch from 1984-86, despite playing on teams that went a combined 35-68-1.

Matt Ryan: Although the story of his career is still being written, the Falcons’ 30-year-old quarterback already holds the franchise’s single-season and career records for passing yards and touchdown passes.

Deion Sanders: One of the most flamboyant athletes in Atlanta sports history, Sanders played the first five seasons of his Pro Football Hall of Fame career with the Falcons from 1989-93. And although far from a Hall of Famer in baseball, he also played parts of three seasons with the Braves, 1991-93.

John Schuerholz: Before Schuerholz became their general manager in October 1990, the Braves had reached the postseason in just two of 25 years here. He transformed the organization into one that would win 14 consecutive division titles. He has been team president since stepping down as GM after the 2007 season.

Mike Smith: He coached a Falcons franchise that had never before compiled back-to-back winning years to five consecutive winning seasons from 2008-2012. The following two seasons got him fired, though.

Rankin Smith Sr.: He paid an $8.5 million expansion fee for the Falcons, and his family owned the team until selling it to Blank in 2002 for $545 million. On-field success was rare under Smith, who pushed to build the Georgia Dome and helped persuade the NFL to play two Super Bowls here. He died in 1997.