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#1
Another great one passes.
This guy was absolutely dominant.
He may have been the best pitcher of his era.
Gibson won a record seven consecutive World Series starts and set a modern standard for excellence when he finished the 1968 season with a 1.12 ERA.
"Bob was funny, smart, he brought a lot of energy. When he talked, you listened. It was good to have him around every year. We lose a game, we lose a series, but the tough thing is we lost one great man."
At his peak, Gibson may have been the most talented all-around starter in history, a nine-time Gold Glove winner who roamed wide to snatch up grounders despite a fierce, sweeping delivery that drove him to the first base side of the mound; and a strong hitter who twice hit five home runs in a single season and batted .303 in 1970, when he also won his second Cy Young.
Baseball wasn't his only sport, either. He also starred in basketball at Creighton and spent a year with the Harlem Globetrotters before totally turning his attention to the diamond.
Gibson's death came on the 52nd anniversary of perhaps his most overpowering performance, when he struck out a World Series record 17 batters in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series against Detroit.
https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/bob-gibson-passes-away-at-84/
This guy was absolutely dominant.
He may have been the best pitcher of his era.
Gibson won a record seven consecutive World Series starts and set a modern standard for excellence when he finished the 1968 season with a 1.12 ERA.
"Bob was funny, smart, he brought a lot of energy. When he talked, you listened. It was good to have him around every year. We lose a game, we lose a series, but the tough thing is we lost one great man."
At his peak, Gibson may have been the most talented all-around starter in history, a nine-time Gold Glove winner who roamed wide to snatch up grounders despite a fierce, sweeping delivery that drove him to the first base side of the mound; and a strong hitter who twice hit five home runs in a single season and batted .303 in 1970, when he also won his second Cy Young.
Baseball wasn't his only sport, either. He also starred in basketball at Creighton and spent a year with the Harlem Globetrotters before totally turning his attention to the diamond.
Gibson's death came on the 52nd anniversary of perhaps his most overpowering performance, when he struck out a World Series record 17 batters in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series against Detroit.
https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/bob-gibson-passes-away-at-84/
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SlickVision, Methodikal, Kevin and 5 others
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Edited
#2
Gibby and Lou Brock were my childhood heroes. It's been a difficult month losing both of them but I have known their health has been failing for a few years. I'm glad they are not suffering.
Back in the 60's I started to follow the Cardinals because of my dad but I stayed because of the great teams and men like Gibson. His fiery temperament amazed me. He wouldn't let his son win when they played checkers. He had to win at everything. He was on the Globetrotters but quit after one year because he wanted to win and they wanted to put on a show. When ever they passed the ball to him he went straight to the basket and shot.
He wrote (or had someone write for him) a book called "From Ghetto to Glory". It was in my grade school's library. I read it a couple of times. It taught me a lot.
He explained how he would sign an autograph for anyone who asked my not to be rude about it. If he's eating dinner wait until he was finished. People often times asked him how much money he made. When he wouldn't say many replied it was too much money. He spoke of living in the ghetto in Tulsa. I was amazed. I thought ghettos were only in large cities. He told of the time he was bitten by a rat. I could not imagine having rats in our home. I first learned of racism from the pages of his book. It was fascinating to me as I had never experienced it. He talked about going to Spring Training in Florida in the 50's and 60's and not being able to stay at the same hotel with the rest of the team or eat in the same restaurants. He resisted but did so with dignity. I guess that is one of the reasons I am troubled by the racial troubles of today. Men like Gibson and King accomplished more with little or no violence.
I have thought about his book a great deal over the years. About 10 years ago I was delighted to find it on the bookshelf at a local library and when I flipped through the pages I was stunned to discover it was a book written for children. I never noticed it when I first read it. What a great idea.
Rick Hummel is a long time writer for the St Louis Post Dispatch. He has a lot of the comments KRK mentioned already but here's a little more:
(In the 1964 World Series)
Because of Gibson I thought every teams best pitcher was supposed to pitch games 1,5 and 7. Well that was before the playoffs were expanded and you needed him to pitch in the earlier series too so things changed.
It wasn't until years later I learned some of the great stories about Bob.
I was sad that he stayed too long in the game. When I look at Favre clinging to the game it reminded me of Gibson. They have such a fire it's hard for them to turn it off.
His career ERA was 2.91. His last full season as a starter was 1974. He was 38 and his ERA was 3.83. His WHIP 1.417. His career average was 1.188. Clearly he had lost it and yet he came back one more year. After a few starts they put him in the bullpen. That was a slap in his face from his perspective but his ERA 5.04 and WHIP 1.670. He retired mid season.
One more thing I remember was laying on the floor listening to the radio and he frequently would strike out all 3 batters on just 9 pitches. I thought that was typical. Ah the ignorance of youth.
Back in the 60's I started to follow the Cardinals because of my dad but I stayed because of the great teams and men like Gibson. His fiery temperament amazed me. He wouldn't let his son win when they played checkers. He had to win at everything. He was on the Globetrotters but quit after one year because he wanted to win and they wanted to put on a show. When ever they passed the ball to him he went straight to the basket and shot.
He wrote (or had someone write for him) a book called "From Ghetto to Glory". It was in my grade school's library. I read it a couple of times. It taught me a lot.
He explained how he would sign an autograph for anyone who asked my not to be rude about it. If he's eating dinner wait until he was finished. People often times asked him how much money he made. When he wouldn't say many replied it was too much money. He spoke of living in the ghetto in Tulsa. I was amazed. I thought ghettos were only in large cities. He told of the time he was bitten by a rat. I could not imagine having rats in our home. I first learned of racism from the pages of his book. It was fascinating to me as I had never experienced it. He talked about going to Spring Training in Florida in the 50's and 60's and not being able to stay at the same hotel with the rest of the team or eat in the same restaurants. He resisted but did so with dignity. I guess that is one of the reasons I am troubled by the racial troubles of today. Men like Gibson and King accomplished more with little or no violence.
I have thought about his book a great deal over the years. About 10 years ago I was delighted to find it on the bookshelf at a local library and when I flipped through the pages I was stunned to discover it was a book written for children. I never noticed it when I first read it. What a great idea.
Rick Hummel is a long time writer for the St Louis Post Dispatch. He has a lot of the comments KRK mentioned already but here's a little more:
(In the 1964 World Series)
Gibson pitched 27 innings in three Series games. One of the starts went eight innings but his second went 10 as he won Game Five, 5-2. Then he came back on two days’ rest and worked a complete-game 7-5 win in Game Seven.
“That last game ... I was tired,” admitted Gibson.
With that putout (in 1964), Gibson had started a string of pitching nine-inning complete games in the World Series. In 1967 and 1968, he pitched six times, with all of them complete games.
Because of Gibson I thought every teams best pitcher was supposed to pitch games 1,5 and 7. Well that was before the playoffs were expanded and you needed him to pitch in the earlier series too so things changed.
It wasn't until years later I learned some of the great stories about Bob.
When a catcher, even longtime batterymate Tim McCarver would come to the mound, to ask a question, or, dare to offer a suggestion, Gibson was said to have snarled, “The only thing you know about pitching is that it’s hard to hit.”There are hundreds of other stories.
After outfielder Mike Shannon was switched to third base, Shannon came to the mound on Opening Day to ask Gibson where to play a certain hitter. Gibson said, “Don’t worry about it.”
Shannon replied, “What do you mean?”
Replied Gibson, “I won’t let them hit the ball to you.” And, basically, he didn’t. Shannon rarely had a chance when Gibson was pitching, other than when Gibson needed a double play against a righthanded pull hitter.
I was sad that he stayed too long in the game. When I look at Favre clinging to the game it reminded me of Gibson. They have such a fire it's hard for them to turn it off.
His career ERA was 2.91. His last full season as a starter was 1974. He was 38 and his ERA was 3.83. His WHIP 1.417. His career average was 1.188. Clearly he had lost it and yet he came back one more year. After a few starts they put him in the bullpen. That was a slap in his face from his perspective but his ERA 5.04 and WHIP 1.670. He retired mid season.
One more thing I remember was laying on the floor listening to the radio and he frequently would strike out all 3 batters on just 9 pitches. I thought that was typical. Ah the ignorance of youth.
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SlickVision, Methodikal, Kevin and 5 others
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#3
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#4
WPR, great perspectives.
IIRC, they actually lowered the pitchers mound, largely because of Gibson and other power pitchers as they became so dominant in the late 60's.
IIRC, they actually lowered the pitchers mound, largely because of Gibson and other power pitchers as they became so dominant in the late 60's.
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#5
KRK;433986WPR, great perspectives.
IIRC, they actually lowered the pitchers mound, largely because of Gibson and other power pitchers as they became so dominant in the late 60's.
Yes. 1968 was the year of the pitcher. Gibson was insane with a 1.12 ERA but others had good numbers too. The ERA for all of MLB was only 2.98. In comparison 2019 ERA was 4.49.
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#6
“(Hank Aaron told me) ‘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 17-game hitting streak?’ That was the night it ended.”
—Dusty Baker
“Gibson was so mean, he’d knock you down and then meet you at home plate to see if you wanted to make something of it.”
—Dick Allen
“Between games, (Willie) Mays came over to me and said, ‘Now, in the second game, you’re going up against Bob Gibson.’ I only half-listened to what he was saying, figuring it didn’t make much difference. So I walked up to the plate the first time and started digging a little hole with my back foot…No sooner did I start digging that hole than I hear Willie screaming from the dugout: ‘Noooooo!’ Well, the first pitch came inside. No harm done, though. So I dug in again. The next thing I knew, there was a loud crack and my left shoulder was broken. I should have listened to Willie.”
—Jim Ray Hart
“I’ve played a couple of hundred games of tic-tac-toe with my little daughter and she hasn’t beaten me yet. I’ve always had to win. I’ve got to win.” Source: The Summer Game by Roger Angell
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SlickVision, Methodikal, Kevin and 5 others
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#7
He wouldn’t even let his little kids win at anything against him!
I wonder what he would think about now, where they don’t keep score for fear of hurting some kids feelings? Or “participation trophies”?
We are seeing all our old time sports heroes passing away.
RIP
I wonder what he would think about now, where they don’t keep score for fear of hurting some kids feelings? Or “participation trophies”?
We are seeing all our old time sports heroes passing away.
RIP
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SlickVision, Methodikal, Kevin and 5 others