Bob Gibson played his entire 17-year big league baseball career with the St. Louis Cardinals
Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amaetur free-agent before the 1957 season, Bob Gibson reported to their Single-A affiliate in Columbus, Georgia. While playing in the deep south the Omaha, Nebraska native experienced racism like never before. Gibson decided to leave the club to play for the H
Bob Gibson played his entire 17-year big league baseball career with the St. Louis Cardinals
Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amaetur free-agent before the 1957 season, Bob Gibson reported to their Single-A affiliate in Columbus, Georgia. While playing in the deep south the Omaha, Nebraska native experienced racism like never before.
Gibson decided to leave the club to play for the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. Earning meager pay, Gibson approached the Cardinals for a possible return, informing them the would not report to his previous club in Georgia.
The Cardinals decided to promote the 21-year old prospect to the Triple-A team in Gibson’s home town. The right-hander pitched his final 10 contests in ’57 in Omaha and returned there at the start of ’58. Soon he was promoted to the Cards’ highest-level minor league club in Rochester.
In the winter of ’58 he played in Puerto Rico. While there, the club failed to pay him.
He writes, “…the purpose of my letter is to see that this boy is not the loser in this case. I might say that in our estimation Bob Gibson is one of the most outstanding baseball prospects in our organization…
“…it will be very embarrassing to the Winter League Clubs should Bob Gibson become a star Major League player and tell his story of the ‘run-around’ he received this year in the Winter League.”
Though Shannon wrote the letter before Gibson donned a big league uniform, his words proved prophetic. Gibson did indeed become a star and the greatest pitcher in St. Louis Cardinals history.
By the time he hung up his spikes after 17 seasons in the majors, Gibson owned most of the franchise pitching records. At his passing, Gibson was the Cardinals franchise leader in wins (251), starts (482), complete games (255), shutouts (56), innings pitched (3,884.1), strikeouts (3,117), and ERA (2.91).
Bob Uecker brought out a softer side in the famously-fierce Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson was one of the fiercest competitors in baseball history. His intensity on the mound struck fear into the hearts of opposing hitters. Dusty Baker recalled Hank Aaron’s advice about Gibson, warning players not to provoke him. Baker recalled what Aaron told him. ” ‘Don’t d
Baker recalled what Aaron told him. ” ‘Don’t dig in against Bob Gibson, he’ll knock you down. He’d knock down his own grandmother if she dared to challenge him. 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, don’t run too fast. If you happen to want to celebrate, get in the tunnel first. And if he hits you, don’t charge the mound, because he’s a Gold Glove boxer.’ I’m like, damn, what about my seventeen-game hitting streak? That was the night it ended.’”
Despite his intimidating persona, Gibson was not without a sense of humor. His tough exterior did not prevent him from bonding with teammates. In 1964, during a team photo, his good-natured teammate Bob Uecker enlisted Gibson in baseball hijinks. Uecker suggested they hold hands for the picture, and Gibson, to everyone’s surprise, agreed. This moment showed a different side of the fierce pitcher, who could enjoy a laugh despite his competitive drive.
In rare moments like these, Gibson revealed his humanity. Uecker’s playful personality often brought out the softer side of Gibson. While Gibson remained one of the most feared pitchers of his era, this lighthearted exchange reminded everyone that even the fiercest competitors could find joy in camaraderie.
The image above shows Uecker and Gibson holding hands in the memorable team photo
Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax are the only pitchers to win multiple World Series MVPs
Since the inception of the World Series in 1903, only four men have earned the Series MVP twice. Position players Reggie Jackson and Corey Seager accomplished the feat. On the pitching side, only Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson have done it. Gibson’s first postseason appearance came in the 1964 ti
Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax are the only pitchers to win multiple World Series MVPs
Since the inception of the World Series in 1903, only four men have earned the Series MVP twice. Position players Reggie Jackson and Corey Seager accomplished the feat. On the pitching side, only Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson have done it.
Gibson’s first postseason appearance came in the 1964 tilt against the New York Yankees. After dropping his Game 2 start, Gibson rebounded to win pivotal Game 5 to put the Cardinals up 3-games-to-2. The sparkling 10-inning complete-game performance included 13 strikeouts. When the Yankees forced a deciding Game 7, Gibson once again got the ball. He scattered 9 hits in the gutty complete-game victory to clinch the championship. Gibson was rewarded with the Series MVP.
Three years later in the 1967 Fall Classic he was even better. The Game 1 starter, he allowed one run and struck out 10 in the Cardinals victory. Four days later he twirled a shutout. The American League champion Red Sox pushed St. Louis to Game 7. Gibson responded with his 5th straight Fall Classic CG in a 3-hit, 10-strikeout clincher to earn a second World Series MVP Award.
Gibson led his team to the World Series once again in 1968. In a losing effort in against Detroit he was spectacular, tossing three complete games and one shutout. In 9 career Fall Classic starts he went 7-2 with a 1.89 ERA, 8 complete games, two shutouts, and 92 strikeouts in 81 innings.
Koufax helped his teams get to the Fall Classic six times and earn four rings. He was named the Series MVP in 1963 by going 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA. He struck out 23 and walked 3 in his two complete-game efforts.
Two years later Sandy and the Dodgers returned to baseball’s biggest stage. Against the AL champion Twins, Koufax went 2-1 with a 0.38 ERA. He pitched a shutout against Hall of Famer Jim Kaat in Game 5. Three days later Sandy duplicated the performance against the tough-luck Twins pitcher in Game 7 to earn his second MVP nod.
Overall, Koufax appeared in 8 World Series contests. In 7 starts he went 4-3 despite a minuscule 0.95 ERA. He twirled four complete games – two of them shutouts – while striking out 61 and walking 11.
Gibson and Koufax remain two of baseball’s greatest big-game pitchers.
Gibson joined the Black Aces in 1965 and is one of two to amass 3,000 Ks
When Jim “Mudcat” Grant won a league-leading 21 games in 1965, he became the American League’s first African-American 20-game winner. Later he published his autobiography under the title, The Black Aces: Baseball’s Only African-American Twenty-Game Winners. The term, “B
Gibson joined the Black Aces in 1965 and is one of two to amass 3,000 Ks
When Jim “Mudcat” Grant won a league-leading 21 games in 1965, he became the American League’s first African-American 20-game winner. Later he published his autobiography under the title, The Black Aces: Baseball’s Only African-American Twenty-Game Winners.
The term, “Black Aces” came to represent 20-game winners of African-American descent. The first member of the club was Don Newcombe of the 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers. A Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and MVP, Newk’ had 20 or more wins on three occasions including a league-leading 27 in 1956.
Four years later Sam Jones of the San Francisco Giants posted an NL-best 21 victories to join Newcombe. First AL Black Ace Mudcat Grant earned his 20th win of 1965 on September 25; eight days later the Cardinals’ Bob Gibson became the club’s fourth member. Gibson reached the 20-win plateau again in 1966, ’68, ’69, and ’70. Gibson is also one of two Aces to reach 3,000 career strikeouts.
In 1967 Fergie Jenkins and Earl Wilson gained membership by winning 20 and 22 games respectively. Jenkins proved to be the most prolific of the 20-game winners, reaching the mark in seven seasons.
Flamethrower JR Richard secured his spot with the Black Aces in 1976 with exactly 20 victories while Mike Norris joined him as a 22-game winner in 1980 with the A’s.
Former Rookie of the Year Dontrelle Willis became the first Black Ace of the 21st century with 22 victories in 2005. Five years later CC Sabathia of the New York Yankees led the league with 21 triumphs to join his mates. The most recent addition to the exclusive club is David Price who won exactly 20 in his Cy Young campaign of 2012.
When Sabathia signed the contract shown above, the baseball season for his junior year in high school had not yet begun. Though he held great promise, no one would dare envision the level of performance he’d reach by the end of his time at Vallejo High School in California.
In 45 2/3 innings he struck out 82 batters while allowing only 14 hits. He went undefeated for the Apaches and was named the top high school prospect in Northern California by Baseball America.
The same month he graduated from Vallejo, the Cleveland Indians made him their first-round selection in the 1998 amateur draft. Three years later he was a 17-game winner and runner up to Ichiro Suzuki for the AL Rookie of the Year.
Bob Gibson and CC Sabathia are the only two Black Aces to reach the 3,000 strikeout plateau.
Gibson missed 8 weeks in the 1967 championship season
Bob Gibson’s 1967 campaign ended with a Fall Classic title and a World Series MVP. While the postseason was everything he could ask for, the regular season had its challenges. Gibson missed nearly two months after breaking his leg on July 15, 1967. The fracture came courtesy of a Roberto Clem
Gibson missed 8 weeks in the 1967 championship season
Bob Gibson’s 1967 campaign ended with a Fall Classic title and a World Series MVP. While the postseason was everything he could ask for, the regular season had its challenges.
Gibson missed nearly two months after breaking his leg on July 15, 1967. The fracture came courtesy of a Roberto Clemente comebacker
In his autobiography Stranger to the Game, Gibson wrote about their 4th-inning encounter.
“We were ahead 1-0 when my old pal Clemente led off the fourth with the Pirates’ first hit – a line drive off my right shin.
“I couldn’t get up right away, and Bob Bauman rushed out to check my leg and spray ethyl chloride on it. I said, ‘I hate to tell you, Doc, but you’re spraying the wrong place.’ He advised me to take a look, and I saw what he saw – a dent in the skin the shape of a baseball. It was odd that I couldn’t feel where I had been struck, but since I couldn’t feel it, I wasn’t particularly worried. I told Doc to put a little tape on it and let me get back to work.
“Willie Stargell was the next batter, and I walked him. Then Bill Mazeroski popped out, and the count was three and two on Donn Clendenon when I tried to put a little extra on the payoff pitch and collapsed.
“The fibula bone had snapped above the ankle. I was taken to Jewish Hospital, my leg was put in a cast, and I was out of the pennant race for nearly eight weeks.”
The image shown here is a personalized autograph of the Pirate great who finished with exactly 3,000 hits.
The 1968 Cy Young & MVP, Bob Gibson earned another Cy two years later
In “The Year of the Pitcher“, Bob Gibson was at the forefront of mound dominance. His 1968 campaign remains one of the most dominant single-season pitching performances in baseball history. In April that year Gibson earned two no-decisions, a win, and a loss in four starts. The opening m
The 1968 Cy Young & MVP, Bob Gibson earned another Cy two years later
In “The Year of the Pitcher“, Bob Gibson was at the forefront of mound dominance. His 1968 campaign remains one of the most dominant single-season pitching performances in baseball history.
In April that year Gibson earned two no-decisions, a win, and a loss in four starts. The opening month performance included two complete games and a 1.97 ERA. After turning in two complete-game wins in early May, he dropped his next four starts. At the end of the month his record stood at 3 wins, 5 losses but with a stingy 1.52 ERA.
Then Gibson went on a tear.
In 16 starts from June 2 through August 19 he pitched 15 complete games – 9 of them shutouts. In the lone game he did not finish, Gibson tossed 11 innings and struck out 10.
By the time the season ended, his 22 wins were second in the league. His 1.12 ERA set the live-ball era record while his 12 shutouts, 268 strikeouts and 258 ERA+ likewise topped the league. Gibson’s 11.9 WAR led all big league players. For his efforts, Gibson was the unanimous choice for the Cy Young Award. Baseball writers also recognized his greatness by honoring him as the National League Most Valuable Player.
Gibson earned a second Cy Young Award in 1970 after posting career highs in both wins (23) and strikeouts (274). A month after receiving the award, Gibson signed the above contract with the American Broadcasting Company.
Hank Aaron gave a young Dusty Baker valuable advice about Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson was one of the fiercest competitors in baseball history. His intensity on the mound struck fear into the hearts of opposing hitters. Dusty Baker always remembered Hank Aaron’s advice about Gibson, warning players not to provoke him. Baker and Aaron were teammates for 8 seasons with
Hank Aaron gave a young Dusty Baker valuable advice about Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson was one of the fiercest competitors in baseball history. His intensity on the mound struck fear into the hearts of opposing hitters. Dusty Baker always remembered Hank Aaron’s advice about Gibson, warning players not to provoke him.
Baker and Aaron were teammates for 8 seasons with the Atlanta Braves from 1968 through 1975.
Dusty often shared the story of what Aaron told him: “‘Don’t dig in against Bob Gibson, he’ll knock you down. He’d knock down his own grandmother if she dared to challenge him. 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, don’t run too fast. If you happen to want to celebrate, get in the tunnel first. And if he hits you, don’t charge the mound, because he’s a Gold Glove boxer.’ I’m like, damn, what about my seventeen-game hitting streak? That was the night it ended.’”
A quick check of the record shows Gibson held Aaron to a .215 average and a .286 on-base percentage. Aaron slugged 8 of his 755 homers off of Gibson in 163 career at bats.
Shown here is the contract Gibson signed to play for St. Louis during that 1974 campaign. That campaign was historically important for baseball and Gibson.
On July 17th that year he struck out his 3,000th batter to join Walter Johnson as the only hurlers to reach the plateau. The game waited 51 seasons for Gibson to become the second member of the 3,000-strikeout club.
Walter Johnson founded the 3,000-strikeout club and was the only member for a half century
Walter Johnson just might be the greatest pitcher ever. His 110 shutouts are the most in big league history while his 417 wins stand second only to Cy Young. If you prefer more advanced analytics, Johnson led American League pitchers in WAR 7 times in 8 years from 1912-1919. His career WAR is an ast
Walter Johnson founded the 3,000-strikeout club and was the only member for a half century
Walter Johnson just might be the greatest pitcher ever. His 110 shutouts are the most in big league history while his 417 wins stand second only to Cy Young. If you prefer more advanced analytics, Johnson led American League pitchers in WAR 7 times in 8 years from 1912-1919. His career WAR is an astonishing 165.1.
Johnson was particularly adept at taking the bat out of hitters hands via the strikeout. He led the league in Ks a record 12 times in including 8 straight seasons from 1912-1919. In 1923 he struck out his 3,000th batter, the first hurler to reach the plateau.
So dominant was Johnson that baseball waited more than a half-century before the next pitcher accomplished the feat. That hurler was Bob Gibson.
When the Hall of Fame had its first election for the inaugural class of 1936, voters selected Johnson as one of 5 true first-ballot men. The other four were legends Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, and Christy Mathewson.
Shown here a handwritten letter penned by Walter Johnson.
In 1974 Gibson fanned Cesar Geronimo to join the Big Train in the 3,000-strikeout club
After Walter Johnson struck out his 3,000th batter in 1923, baseball waited 51 years before another man matched his feat. That pitcher was Cardinals right-hander Bob Gibson. The St. Louis great took the mound at Busch Stadium on July 17th, 1974 needing one strikeout to reach the milestone. In the bo
The St. Louis great took the mound at Busch Stadium on July 17th, 1974 needing one strikeout to reach the milestone. In the bottom of the second with two out, Reds centerfielder Cesar Geronimo came to bat. When Gibson got him swinging, he had his magic moment. The 3,000-strikeout club now had two members.
Shown here is the contract Gibson signed to play for St. Louis during that 1974 campaign.
Bob Gibson is one of the most decorated pitchers in the history of the game
Bob Gibson’s accolades are many. Beloved in St. Louis, the right-hander earned two Cy Young Awards and was twice named the World Series MVP. On September 3, 1975 two days before his final career start, the Cardinals retired his jersey #45. Five years later when he appeared on the Cooperstown b
A bronze likeness of Gibson stands outside of the team’s home stadium. A year after it was completed in 1998, The Sporting News identified Gibson as #31 on their list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. In 1999 Gibson was one of 9 pitchers selected to Major League Baseball’s All-Century Team.
When the Cardinals announced their inaugural class for their team Hall of Fame in 2014, Gibson made the list.
World Series championships are won on the field, not in the newspapers. In 1967 the press might’ve given the Cardinals extra motivation in their epic seven-game battle against the Red Sox. Boston wins the pennant on the last day Boston had to grind it out just to get to the postseason. The battle for supremacy in the American League came down to the last day of the regular season. Boston and second-place Detroit were separated by just a half-game. The Tigers had a doubleheader at home against the Angels. The Red Sox played the Twins at Fenway Park. Boston turned to ace Jim Lonborg for the regular season finale. The 1967 Cy Young Award winner, Gentleman Jim responded with a gutty performance. On three days rest he went the distance allowing one earned run before the sellout crowd at Fenway. The October 1st contest was his 15th complete game of the season. The Tigers needed a sweep of California. Detroit won the first game 6-4 but couldn’t contain the Angels in the second, losing 8-5. With the Detroit loss, Boston earned a berth to the World Series against the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals. The World Series begins On […]
Thanks for sharing. I was so fortunate to see Bob Gibson pitch several times 1964-68. So exciting and fun. I was a kid but could see how talented he was. Good discussions with my Dad about his skill.
I was lucky to have seen him pitch what a work horse 256 complete games big game pitcher the more the game had meaning he got better it seemed 1.12 era in 1968 7-1 1.89 in World Series games 17 strikeouts in World Series game
Thanks for sharing. I was so fortunate to see Bob Gibson pitch several times 1964-68. So exciting and fun. I was a kid but could see how talented he was. Good discussions with my Dad about his skill.
I was lucky to have seen him pitch what a work horse 256 complete games big game pitcher the more the game had meaning he got better it seemed 1.12 era in 1968 7-1 1.89 in World Series games 17 strikeouts in World Series game