 After growing up in North Carolina and fighting in World War II , Wilhelm spent several years in the minor leagues before starting his MLB career . He was best known for his knuckleball , which enabled him to have great longevity . He appeared occasionally as a starting pitcher , but he pitched mainly as a specialist relief man , a role in which he won 124 games , still the record for relief pitchers . He was the first pitcher to reach 200 saves and the first to appear in 1 @,@ 000 games . 
