| Bob Gibson | |
|---|---|
 Gibson in 1962 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1935-11-09)November 9, 1935 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. | |
| Died: October 2, 2020(2020-10-02) (aged 84) Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 15, 1959, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 3, 1975, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 251–174 |
| Earned run average | 2.91 |
| Strikeouts | 3,117 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1981 |
| Vote | 84.0% (first ballot) |
Robert Gibson (November 9, 1935 – October 2, 2020), nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot", was an Americanbaseball pitcher inMajor League Baseball who played his entire career for theSt. Louis Cardinals from 1959 to 1975. Known for his fiercely competitive nature, Gibson tallied 251wins, 3,117strikeouts, and a 2.91earned run average. A nine-timeAll-Star and two-timeWorld Series Champion, he won twoCy Young Awards and the 1968National LeagueMost Valuable Player Award.
Born inOmaha, Nebraska, Gibson overcame childhood illness to excel in youth sports, particularly basketball and baseball. After briefly playing with theHarlem Globetrotters basketball team, he chose to pursue baseball and signed with theSt. Louis Cardinals organization. He became a full-timestarting pitcher in July 1961 and earned his first All-Star appearance in 1962. Gibson won 2 of 3 games he pitched in the1964 World Series, then won 20 games in a season for the first time in 1965. Gibson also pitched threecomplete game victories in the1967 World Series. He is one of four players and two pitchers to win multipleWorld Series MVPs.
The pinnacle of Gibson's career was 1968, during the "Year of the Pitcher", which is regarded as one of the greatest single pitching seasons of all-time; he posted a 1.12 ERA for the season and then recorded 17 strikeouts in Game 1 of the1968 World Series. Gibson threw ano-hitter in 1971 but began experiencing swelling in his knee in subsequent seasons. At the time of his retirement in 1975, Gibson ranked second only toWalter Johnson among major-league pitchers in career strikeouts. When describing Gibson’s career, his former all-star teammateTim McCarver jokingly remarked, "Bob Gibson is the luckiest pitcher in baseball. He always pitches when the other team doesn't score any runs.”
He was elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame in 1981, his first year of eligibility, and the Cardinals retired his uniform number 45 in September 1975, the year he retired. Gibson was later selected for theMajor League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999. He died ofpancreatic cancer on October 2, 2020.
Gibson was born inOmaha, Nebraska, on November 9, 1935, the youngest of Victoria (née Brown) and Pack Gibson's seven children.[1] Gibson's father died oftuberculosis three months prior to Gibson's birth, and he was named "Pack Robert Gibson", in honor of his late father.[2] While he revered his father's legacy, Gibson disliked the name "Pack" and later legally dropped it.[3]
Although afflicted byrickets andrespiratory disease as a child, Gibson was active in sports, particularly baseball and basketball, in both informal and organized settings.[4] Gibson's brother Josh, 15 years his senior, had a profound effect on his early life, serving as his mentor and a father figure.[5] Gibson played on a number of youth basketball and baseball teams his brother coached, many of which were organized through the localYMCA.[6]
Gibson attendedOmaha Technical High School, where he participated on the track, basketball, and baseball teams.[7] Gibson was named to the All-State basketball team during his senior year of high school by a newspaper inLincoln, Nebraska, and soon after won a fullathletic scholarship for basketball fromCreighton University.[8]Indiana University had rejected him after stating their "Negro athlete quota" had already been filled.[9]
While at Creighton, Gibson majored in sociology, and continued to experience success playing basketball. At the end of his junior basketball season, he averaged 22 points per game, and made third team Jesuit All-American.[10] As his graduation from Creighton approached, the spring of 1957 proved to be a busy time for Gibson. Aside from getting married, Gibson had garnered the interest of theHarlem Globetrotters basketball team and theSt. Louis Cardinals baseball team.[11]
Gibson eventually signed a deal which allowed him to play baseball in the Cardinals minor league system for the rest of the summer after which he would play for the Globetrotters for four months.[12] After the four months were over, he and the Cardinals agreed that he would focus solely on baseball; he received a $3,000 ($34,000 today) signing bonus to sign with the team.[2]
Gibson made his pitching debut for theOmaha Cardinals of theAmerican Association, one of the Cardinals' Triple-A affiliates. He struggled against Triple-A hitting however, recording anearned run average of 4.29 in his first ten games, including four starts. He was reassigned to theColumbus Foxes of theSouth Atlantic League, the team's Single-A affiliate where his performance improved a little; making eight starts, he recorded an earned run average of 3.77 for the team.[13]
The following season, he was first assigned to theRochester Red Wings of theInternational League, another Triple-A affiliate of the Cardinals. He improved significantly, recording an earned run average of 2.45 in twenty games, including eleven starts. He threw seven complete games and 103 innings. The Cardinals reassigned him to Omaha where his performance slightly worsened, with an ERA of 3.31 in eleven starts, though he did record his first professionalshutout.[13]
Gibson was assigned to the Cardinals' big league roster for the start of the1959 season, making his Major League debut on April 15 against theLos Angeles Dodgers; he pitched two innings in relief, giving up two runs, including a home run toJim Baxes, the very first batter he faced.[14] Reassigned to their Omaha affiliate soon after, Gibson returned to the Major Leagues on July 30 to make his first career start; he earned his first Major League win the same day, a shutout against theCincinnati Reds.[15][16]
Gibson's experience in1960 was similar to his first season in the majors, pitching nine innings for the Cardinals before shuffling between the Cardinals and their Rochester affiliate until mid-June.[13] After posting a 3–6 record with a 5.61 ERA for the season, Gibson traveled toVenezuela to participate in winter baseball at the conclusion of the 1960 season.[17] He was also sent toPuerto Rico to play for theCangrejeros de Santurce before and after the 1961 season.[18]
Cardinals managerSolly Hemus shuffled Gibson between the bullpen and the starting pitching rotation for the first half of the 1961 season.[19] Years later, Gibson indicated that Hemus's racial prejudice played a major role in his misuse of Gibson, as well as of teammateCurt Flood, both of whom were told by Hemus that they would not make it as major leaguers and should try something else. Hemus was replaced as Cardinals manager in July 1961 byJohnny Keane, who had been Gibson's manager on the Omaha minor league affiliate several years prior.[20] Keane and Gibson shared a positive professional relationship, and Keane immediately moved Gibson into the starting pitching rotation full-time. Gibson proceeded to compile an 11–6 record the remainder of the year, and posted a 3.24 ERA for the full season.[21]
Off the field, Gibson, along with teammatesBill White andCurt Flood, started a movement to make all players live in the same clubhouse and hotel rooms. Their campaign led the St. Louis Cardinals to become the first sports team to end segregation, three years before PresidentLyndon B. Johnson signed theCivil Rights Act of 1964.[22]
"Don't dig in against Bob Gibson. He'll knock you down. He'd knock down his own grandmother.
Don't stare at him, don't smile at him, don't talk to him. He doesn't like it.
If you happen to hit a home run, don't run too slow and don't run too fast. If you want to celebrate get in the tunnel first.
And if he hits you, don't charge the mound because he's a Golden Gloves boxer."
In late May of the1962 season, Gibson pitched22+2⁄3 consecutive scoreless innings on his way to being named an All-Star for the first time.[24] He was named to bothAll-Star Games that year, pitching two innings in the second.[a] Despite suffering a fractured ankle late in the season, Gibson still finished 1962 with his first 200-strikeout season.[21][26]
The rehabilitation of Gibson's ankle was a slow process, and by May 19 of the1963 season he had recorded only one win.[27] Gibson then turned to rely on his slider and two different fastball pitches to reel off six straight wins prior to late July.[28] He and all other Major League pitchers benefited from a rule change that season which expanded the strike zone.[29] Adding to his pitching performances was Gibson's offensive production, with his 20 RBIs outmatching the combined RBI output of entire pitching staffs on other National League teams.[30] Even with Gibson's 18 wins and the extra motivation of teammateStan Musial's impending retirement, however, the Cardinals finished six games out of first place.[31]
Building on their late-season pennant run in 1963, the 1964 Cardinals developed a strong camaraderie that was noted for being free of the racial tension that predominated in the United States at that time.[32][33] Part of this atmosphere stemmed from the integration of the team's spring training hotel in 1960, and Gibson and teammateBill White worked to confront and stop use of racial slurs within the team.[34] On August 23, the Cardinals were 11 games behind thePhiladelphia Phillies and remained six-and-a-half games behind on September 21. The combination of a nine-game Cardinals winning streak and a ten-game Phillies losing streak then brought the season down to the final game. The Cardinals faced theNew York Mets, and Gibson entered the game as a relief pitcher in the fifth inning. Aware that the Phillies were ahead of theCincinnati Reds 4–0 at the time he entered the game, Gibson proceeded to pitch four innings of two-hit relief, while his teammates scored 11 runs of support to earn the victory.[35]
They next faced theNew York Yankees in the1964 World Series. Gibson was matched against Yankees starting pitcherMel Stottlemyre for three of the Series' seven games, with Gibson losing Game 2, then winning Game 5.[36] In Game 7, Gibson, who only had 2 days rest, pitched into the ninth inning, where he allowed home runs toPhil Linz andClete Boyer, making the score 7–5 Cardinals. WithRay Sadecki andBarney Schultz warming up in the Cardinal bullpen, Gibson retiredBobby Richardson for the final out, giving the Cardinals their first World Championship since1946.[37] Along with his two victories, Gibson set a new World Series record by striking out 31 batters.[38]
Gibson made the All-Star team again in the1965 season, and when the Cardinals were well out of the pennant race by August, attention turned to Gibson to see if he could win 20 games for the first time.[39] Gibson was still looking for win number 20 on the last day of the season, a game where new Cardinals managerRed Schoendienst rested many of the regular players. Gibson still prevailed against theHouston Astros by a score of 5–2.[40]
The 1966 season marked the opening ofBusch Memorial Stadium for the Cardinals and Gibson was selected to play in theAll-Star Game in front of the hometown crowd, though he did not as he was hurt at the time.[41]
The Cardinals built a3+1⁄2-game lead prior to the1967 season All-Star break, and Gibson pitched the seventh and eighth innings of the 1967 All-Star game. Gibson then faced thePittsburgh Pirates on July 15, whenRoberto Clemente hit a line drive off Gibson's right leg.[42] Unaware his leg had been fractured, Gibson faced three more batters before his rightfibula bone snapped above the ankle.[43] After Gibson returned on September 7, the Cardinals secured theNational League pennant on September 18,10+1⁄2 games ahead of theSan Francisco Giants.[44][45]
In the1967 World Series against theBoston Red Sox, Gibson allowed only three earned runs and 14 hits over three complete-game victories in Games 1, 4 (five-hit shutout), and 7, the latter two marks tyingChristy Mathewson's1905 World Series record. Just as he had in 1964, Gibson pitched a complete-game victory in Game 7, against Cy Young winnerJim Lonborg, who pitched a one-hitter in Game 2. Gibson also contributed offensively in Game 7 by hitting a home run that made the game 3–0.[46][47] Unlike his last win as World Series MVP, he finally got the endorsements that had eluded him in 1964, including endorsement and sponsorship for hisasthma medication, namelyPrimatene mist inhaler and tablets.[48]
The 1968 season became known as "The Year of the Pitcher", and Gibson was at the forefront of pitching dominance.[49] Hisearned run average was 1.12, alive-ball era record, as well as the major league record in 300 or more innings pitched. It was the lowest major league ERA sinceDutch Leonard's 0.96 mark 54 years earlier. Additionally, Gibson threw 13shutouts.[21]
Gibson won all 12 starts in June and July, pitching a complete game every time, (eight of which were shutouts), and allowed only six earned runs in 108 innings pitched (a 0.50 ERA). Gibson pitched 47consecutive scoreless innings during this stretch, at the time the fourth-longest scoreless streak in major league history. He also struck out 91 batters, and he won two consecutiveNL Player of the Month awards.[50] Gibson finished the season with 28 complete games out of 34 games started. Of the games he didn't complete, he waspinch-hit for, meaning Gibson was not removed from the mound for another pitcher for the entire season.[21]
Gibson won theNational League MVP Award. WithDenny McLain winning theAmerican League's Most Valuable Player award, 1968 remains, to date, the only year both MVP Awards went to pitchers, with McLain compiling a 31–6 record for theDetroit Tigers.[51]
Gibson lost nine games against 22 wins, despite his record-setting low 1.12 ERA, as the feeble batting throughout baseball included his own team. The 1968 Cardinals had one .300 hitter, while the team-leading home run and RBI totals were just 16 and 79, respectively.[52] Of his nine losses, two were 1–0 games, one of which was againstSan Francisco Giants pitcherGaylord Perry'sno-hitter on September 17. The Giants' run in that game came on a first-inning home run by light-hittingRon Hunt, one of only 11 that Gibson allowed in304+2⁄3 innings.[53]
In Game 1 of the1968 World Series against theDetroit Tigers, Gibson struck out 17 batters, setting a World Series record for strikeouts in one game and breakingSandy Koufax's record of 15 set in Game 1 of the1963 World Series.[54] He also joinedEd Walsh as the only pitchers to strike out at least one batter in each inning of a World Series game, Walsh having done so in Game 3 of the1906 World Series. After allowing a leadoff single toMickey Stanley in the ninth inning, Gibson finished the game by striking out Tiger sluggersAl Kaline,Norm Cash, andWillie Horton in succession.[55]
Gibson next pitched in Game 4, winning the game by a score of 10–1, beating Tigers' aceDenny McLain.[56] The teams continued to battle each other, setting the stage for another winner-take-all Game 7 in St. Louis on October 10, 1968.[57] In this game Gibson was matched against Tigers pitcherMickey Lolich and the two proceeded to hold their opponents scoreless for the first six innings. In the top of the seventh, Gibson retired the first two batters before allowing two consecutive singles.[58] Detroit batterJim Northrup then hit a two-run triple over the head of center fielderCurt Flood, leading to Detroit's Series win.[59]
The overall pitching statistics in the 1968 season, led by Gibson and McLain's record-setting performances, are often cited as one of the reasons for Major League Baseball's decision to alter pitching-related rules. Sometimes known as the "Gibson rules", Major League Baseball lowered thepitcher's mound in 1969 from 15 inches (380 mm) to 10 inches (250 mm) – though teams had rarely followed this rule nor was it enforced by the league – and reduced the height of the strike zone from the batter's armpits to the jersey letters.[60]
Aside from the rule changes set to take effect in 1969, cultural and monetary influences increasingly began impacting baseball, as evidenced by nine players from the Cardinals' 1968 roster who had not reported by the first week of spring training due to the status of their contracts.[61] On February 4, 1969, Gibson appeared onThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and said theMajor League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) had suggested players consider striking before the upcoming season began.[62] Gibson himself had no immediate contract worries, as the $125,000 salary Gibson requested for 1969 was agreed to by team ownerGussie Busch and the Cardinals, setting a new franchise record for the highest single-season salary.[63]
Despite the significant rule changes, Gibson's status as one of the league's best pitchers was not immediately affected. In 1969, he went 20–13 with a 2.18 ERA, 4shutouts, and 28complete games.[21] On May 12, 1969, Gibson struck out three batters on nine pitches in the seventh inning of a 6–2 win over theLos Angeles Dodgers.[64] Gibson became the ninth National League pitcher and the 15th pitcher in Major League history to throw animmaculate inning. After pitching into the tenth inning of the July 4 game against the Cubs, Gibson was removed from a game without finishing an inning for the first time in more than 60 consecutive starts, a streak spanning two years.[65] Gibson set another mark, on August 16, when he became the third pitcher in Major League history to reach the 200-strikeout plateau in seven different seasons.[21]
Gibson experienced an up-and-down1970 season, marked at the low point by a July slump where he resorted to experimenting with aknuckleball for the first time in his career.[66] Just as quickly, Gibson returned to form, starting a streak of seven wins on July 28, and pitching all 14 innings of a 5–4 win against theSan Diego Padres on August 12. He would go on to win his fourth and final NL Player of the Month award for August (6–0, 2.31 ERA, 55 SO).[67] Gibson won 23 games in 1970, and was once again named the NL Cy Young Award winner.[21]
Gibson achieved two highlights in August 1971. On the 4th, he defeated the Giants 7–2 atBusch Memorial Stadium for his 200th career victory. Ten days later, he threw a no-hitter against thePittsburgh Pirates, beating the eventualWorld Champions by a score of 11–0 atThree Rivers Stadium.[68] Along the way, he registered 10 strikeouts, including the game's final out. Gibson also drove in three runs, one on a fifth-inning sacrifice fly and two on an eighth-inning single, to help his own cause. The no-hitter was the first inPittsburgh sinceNick Maddox atExposition Park in 1907; none had been pitched in the 62-year history of Three Rivers Stadium's predecessor,Forbes Field.[69]
Gibson started the 1972 season by going 0–5. However, he would end the season with 19 wins and recording his ninth and final 200-strikeout season. He also made his final All-Star appearance.[21] On June 21, against theSan Diego Padres, he brokeJesse Haines's club record for most wins.[70]
During the summer of 1974, Gibson felt hopeful he could put together a winning streak, but he continually encountered swelling in his knee.[71] Despite his struggles, on July 17 of that season, he became the second pitcher in Major League Baseball history, afterWalter Johnson, to strike out more than 3,000 batters and the first to do so in theNational League; the strikeout victim wasCésar Gerónimo of theCincinnati Reds.[72]
In January 1975, Gibson announced he would retire at the end of the 1975 season, admitting later on that he only continued to play baseball in order to cope with his recent divorce from his ex-wife, Charline.[73] During his final season, Gibson went 3–10 with a 5.04earned run average.[21]
From 1963 to 1970, Gibson posted a win–loss record of 156–81, for a .658 winning percentage. He won nineGold Glove Awards, theNational LeagueCy Young Award in 1968 and 1970, and theNational League MVP Award in 1968.[51][74] His 1.12earned run average and 13shutouts in 1968 are both records in the live-ball era.[75][76]
In his career, Gibson had a win-loss record of 251–174 with anERA of 2.91. Across 482 games started, he pitched 56shutouts and 255complete games, striking out 3,117 batters in3,884+1⁄3innings pitched.[21] He holds the Cardinals franchise pitching records for wins, games started, complete games, shutouts, innings pitched, and strikeouts.[77]
As a hitter, he had a lifetimebatting average of .206 with 24home runs and 144runs batted in. Gibson was sometimes used by the Cardinals as apinch-hitter, and in 1970 he hit .303 for the season in 109 at-bats, which was over 100 points higher than teammateDal Maxvill.[21]
Gibson is considered one of the greatest postseason pitchers in baseball history. Across threeWorld Series and nine games started, he had a record of 7–2 with a 1.89 ERA and 92 strikeouts.[78] He became the second player, afterSandy Koufax, to win twoWorld Series MVP awards, receiving the honor in 1964 and 1967.[79]
In1964, he set a World Series record for most strikeouts in a seven-game World Series with 31, a record he broke in1968 when he recorded 35, including a record 17 strikeouts in Game 1.[80] Additionally, Gibson is one of two pitchers, the other beingDave McNally, to hit two home runs inWorld Series play, hitting one each in the1967 and1968 World Series.[81]
| Category | W | L | ERA | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | WHIP | FIP | ERA+ | H/9 | SO/9 | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 251 | 174 | 2.91 | 482 | 255 | 56 | 6 | 3,884.1 | 3,279 | 1,420 | 1,258 | 257 | 1,336 | 118 | 3,117 | 102 | 1.188 | 2.89 | 127 | 7.6 | 7.2 | [21] |
"Bob Gibson pitches as though he's double parked."
Gibson was a quick worker on the mound with an explosive delivery, falling towards first base each time he released the ball. He relied on pinpoint control and had a low, three-quarter arm angle. His repertoire consisted of aslider and both atwo-seam fastball and afour-seam fastball.[2]
He was a fierce competitor who was known to throwbrushback pitches to establish dominance over the strike-zone and intimidate the batter, similar to his contemporary and fellow Hall of FamerDon Drysdale.[2][83] However, he rarely hit batters deliberately; compared to Drysdale, who hit 154 batters in his career, Gibson hit only 102 despite facing more batters.[21] Additionally, Drysdale led the league in hit batsmen five times, while Gibson never did; only once did he finish in the top three.[84]
While he gained a reputation for being intimidating, Gibson often pushed back on stories by contemporaries about him as being exaggerated, saying that he made no concerted effort to be intimidating. He once joked that the only reason he glared while pitching was because of his poor eyesight and inability to see the catcher's signals clearly as he did not wear glasses while pitching.[85]
Gibson was also known to avoid fraternizing with opposing players. At the1965 All-Star Game,Milwaukee Braves catcherJoe Torre caught Gibson in the 9th inning; afterwards, when he complimented Gibson's pitching, the latter ignored him and merely got dressed and left.[2] He could also, on occasion, be brusque with his teammates, particularly his catchers. WhenTim McCarver once went to the mound for a conference, Gibson brushed him off, saying "The only thing you know about pitching is that it's hard to hit."[86]
Before Gibson returned to his home in Omaha at the end of the 1975 season, Cardinals general managerBing Devine offered him an undefined job, contingent on approval from higher-ranking club officials.[87] Unsure of his future career path, Gibson declined the offer. The Cardinals never offered him a job again. He later said: "I've often thought how different my life would have been if I had said 'yes' that day."[2]
During the 1975 offseason, Gibson used the motor home the Cardinals had given him as a retirement gift to travel across the western United States. He returned to Omaha, where he served as chairman of the board of directors for the Community National Bank, a local bank that served the city's African-American community. He became the principal investor in the radio stationKOWH. He also started Gibson's Spirits and Sustenance restaurant, sometimes working 12-hour days as its owner/operator.[88]Gibson was briefly a television color commentator for theNew York Nets of theAmerican Basketball Association.
Gibson returned to baseball in 1981, accepting a coaching job from New York Mets managerJoe Torre, a former teammate with the Cardinals. Torre called Gibson an "attitude coach", the first such title in Major League history.[89] Torre and his coaching staff were let go at the end of the 1981 season. Torre moved on to manage theAtlanta Braves in 1982, hiring Gibson as apitching coach.[90] The Braves proceeded to challenge for the National League pennant for the first time since 1969, ultimately losing to the Cardinals in the1982 National League Championship Series.[91] Gibson remained with Torre on the Braves' coaching staff until the end of the 1984 season.[92]
Gibson then took to hosting a pre- and postgame show for Cardinals baseball games on radio stationKMOX from 1985 until 1989.[93] He also served as color commentator for baseball games onESPN in 1990; he declined an option to continue the position because he would have to spend too much time away from his family.[94] In1995, Gibson again served aspitching coach on a Torre-led staff, this time returning to the Cardinals.
In 2009, with the help of sportswriterLonnie Wheeler, he and fellow Hall of FamerReggie Jackson wrote a book titledSixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher & a Hall of Fame Hitter Talk About How the Game Is Played.[95] Gibson wrote another book, also with Wheeler, titledPitch by Pitch: My View of One Unforgettable Game; published in 2015, it described Game 1 of the1968 World Series from his point of view.[96]
Gibson's jersey number 45 was retired by theSt. Louis Cardinals on September 1, 1975.[97] In1981, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot.[98]
In 1999, he was ranked number 31 onThe Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was elected to theMajor League Baseball All-Century Team.[99][100] In 2020,The Athletic ranked Gibson at number 45 on its "Baseball 100" list, complied by sportswriterJoe Posnanski.[101]
Gibson was named as one of (then) thirteen "Black Aces", a select few African-American pitchers who had a 20-win season in the Major Leagues, by former pitcherMudcat Grant in a book he had authored calledThe Black Aces: Baseball's Only African-American Twenty-Game Winners.[102]
In 2022, as part of their SN Rushmore project,The Sporting News named Gibson on their "St. Louis Mount Rushmore of Sports", along with fellow CardinalsStan Musial andAlbert Pujols, andSt. Louis Blues hockey playerBrett Hull.[103]
He has a star on theSt. Louis Walk of Fame.[104] A bronze statue of Gibson byHarry Weber is located in front of Busch Stadium, commemorating Gibson along with other St. Louis Cardinals greats.[105] Another statue of Gibson was unveiled outside ofWerner Park in Gibson's home city,Omaha, Nebraska, in 2013.[106] The street on the north side ofRosenblatt Stadium, former home of theCollege World Series in his hometown of Omaha, is named Bob Gibson Boulevard.
In January 2014, the Cardinals announced Gibson as among 22 former players and personnel who made up the inaugural class ofSt. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum.[107]
Gibson was married twice and was the father of three children. With his first wife, Charline (née Johnson), he had a son named Ray[b] and a daughter named Annette.[110] With his second wife, Wendy (née Nelson), he had a son named Christopher.[111]
During his teenage years, Gibson's eyesight deteriorated severely and necessitated the use ofeyeglasses. However, he never wore glasses when in uniform or while pitching; catcherTim McCarver would paint his finger nails to enable Gibson to be able to see signs. Gibson's former teammateBill White, while with theSan Francisco Giants, recalled taking Gibson to meetWillie Mays; Mays did not immediately recognize Gibson as the latter was wearing his glasses at the time.[112]
During his career and in retirement, Gibson continued to live in his hometown ofOmaha, Nebraska. This was due to a discriminatory housing policy inSt. Louis during his playing career which made it extremely difficult for him to buy a house in the city.[113]
Gibson hosted an annual golf tournament in Omaha for 12 years, called the 'Bob Gibson All-Star Classic', raising millions of dollars for local and national charities.[114] He also sat on the Board of Directors of theBaseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.), an organization that provides aid to retired, financially struggling former ballplayers.[115]
In 2002, Gibson was involved in aroad rage incident with a man named Miguel Sanchez. Both Gibson and Sanchez were cited by the police for third-degree assault after they got into a fistfight at agas station.[116]
In July 2019, Gibson's longtime agent Dick Zitzmann announced that Gibson had been diagnosed withpancreatic cancer several weeks earlier and was due to begin chemotherapy.[117] He died on October 2, 2020, at age 84, under hospice care after fighting cancer for more than a year.[118]
Following his death, Cardinal fans paid their respect to Gibson at his statue atBusch Stadium.[119] The following season, the team honored Gibson by wearing a "45" memorial patch on their uniforms and holding "Bob Gibson Day" on August 22, with former teammates and his family attending the pregame memorial ceremony.[120]
Gibson's funeral was held privately inOmaha, Nebraska, with only his immediate surviving family attending. His body was interred at Evergreen Memorial Park in Omaha.[121]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | St. Louis Cardinals Opening Day Starting Pitcher 1965 1967–1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | No-hitter pitcher August 14, 1971 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Major League Baseball Player of the Month September 1964 June & July 1968 August 1970 | Succeeded by |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by | Atlanta Bravespitching coach 1982–1984 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach 1995 | Succeeded by |
Links to related articles | |
|---|---|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
