Bob Gibson, 1935 – 2020

39 Replies to “Bob Gibson, 1935 – 2020”

1. Your at different level good when they change the rules because of you.

2. I must confess, I saw the name and the first thought was “Guitar god”?

   The follow up reading taught me a lot. Rest in Peace. I’m not a baseball follower, but those are some impressive numbers. Well done at being a master of your craft.

   1. Absolutely! I think they dropped the height of the pitching mound? What a dude that guy…

   2. Your think of Orville Gibson

3. I remember his World Series performances. Yes, I am that old.

   IIRC, he pitched on one day of rest.

   He was a very special athlete.

   1. He pitched three complete game wins (total of 3 earned runs) in the 1967 World Series (October 4 – 12) against my beloved Red Sox. Let that sink in: three complete game wins over a span of 9 days! I was 10 years old at the time and so don’t really remember it. Truly one of the most dominating pitchers in baseball, all time.

      RIP.

      1. It was a different era.
         A four man starting rotation was normal. That means in the World Series, the #1 starter would pitch the first, fourth (with a travel date), and seventh (with a travel date) games. That was what Gibson did in 67. And by definition, the starters are the best pitchers on the staff. You don’t take him out unless he really doesn’t have it that day. I still shake my head at taking out a starter while he is still pitching a shutout these days. They worry so much about pitch counts now. Such a thing wasn’t even a concept then. In his 17 year career, Gibson started 482 games, and completed 255 games. In one two year stretch, he finished 56 of 69 starts, with ERAs of 1.12(!) and 2.18.
         I remember one year, Gibson and Koufax faced each other in Los Angeles. We walked into the stadium in the bottom of the first inning. I looked at the scoreboard and somehow the Cards already had two runs. I had no idea how that happened, because those days Koufax’ ERA was consistently under 2. I said to my friend, this game is over, and he said wait and see. Well, he was right. After three innings, both starters were gone. That was such a shocking turn of events, for a marquee matchup of the top two pitchers in the league.
         I looked up the 67 WS, and actually it was an epic duel between two great pitchers. Your Jim Lonborg also pitched two complete game victories, giving up 1 run, just like Gibson, except he pitched the second and fifth game. When the Sox won the sixth game to tie the Series, Lonborg tried to come back with two days’ rest. It didn’t work, he gave up 7 runs in 6 innings, while Gibson actually gave up two runs, but won the complete game.
         I am tempted to talk nonstop about my favorite Dodger, Sandy Koufax. But I’ll wait for another chance. If you are interested, just look up what he did in his last four years in the league.

         1. A very different time. Lonborg had pitched the final game of the season in order to, attempt to, secure the win needed to capture the pennant. Thus, he could not go in game 1 of the series. Baseball was so different then. I looked up the game times and aside from one at two hours and forty-eight minutes, six of them were around two and a half hours.

            Too bad baseball isn’t that way now. For a whole bunch of unrelated reasons I didn’t watch this year, but when I do watch my limit is about 2 1/2 hours. I just can’t watch those four hour Boston & New York snooze fests.

            Again, Bob Gibson, and his era in baseball, RIP.

4. Thanks for this post and the link Kate.

   In the interview in ’68, Gibson speculates whether he had a heart episode (possibly a heart attack). Following retirement an EKG showed he had heart damage…

   As a St Louisan, we are proud of the quality players and the city almost uniformly loves the birds on bat.

5. Crushed my Red Sox. One of the greatest pitchers I ever saw. Easily the most intimidating. He posted an ERA of 1.12 in 1968.

6. The heroes of my youth are all toppling … sad. Well at least he didn’t die at age 27 like so many Gibson guitar gods.

7. The only true professional “sport” is professional wrestling. It is the only “sport” that has no illusions about what it is. All other pro “sports” are fake, gay, silly and boring.

   1. *yawn

      Oh, do shut up. And go hit someone with a chair.

      Thanks for playing.

      mhb23re

      1. Well aren’t you grumpy today! And promoting violence too.

         I think you are just a sad little boy inside a man’s body.

         I think you need a hug.

   2. He was famous for his very intimidating stare. But it came about by accident.

      It turns out that he needed glasses, but didn’t wear them when pitching, so he had to squint a little to see the catchers signals. And that is the secret of his glare.

8. A personal hero of mine and who I patterned myself after in my yoot when I had aspirations of making it to the bigs. Pfffffftttt…like that’d ever happen.
   Anyways…he was an absolute beast on the mound, the same mound they lowered because of his dominance btw…at least one of the reasons. Batters feared him like no one else with the possible exception of Juan Marichal of the Giants.
   Important to note pitchers of that era pitched full games, now they’ll yank a pitcher after 6 innings or a hundred pitches whichever comes first.

   RIP “Gibby”

9. The man could plum throw a baseball with more hurry up than anyone. His ’67 Series performance was one for the ages. 3 wins, 27 innings. 14 hits, 26 strike outs and 3 earned runs. RIP Mr. Gibson.

10. If only I had retained the multitude of baseball cards from my youth, I’d be able to throw money around like a Trudeau.
    Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, etc rookie cards. Worth big bucks over the years.
    Unfortunately, leaving home at 18 and leaving most of my stuff behind for 3 younger brothers to invade, that fortune and those cards are long gone.

    Strangely enough, one and only one card has been retained over the years.
    A 1967 “Gibson Hurls Shutout” in 4th game of World Series.
    Worth a fluctuating $10 to $20.
    Worth a fortune in memories.

    Think you’re old?
    The Cards became my favorite team after getting Maris from the Yanks.
    1967 Champs:
    Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, Nelson Briles.(can’t remember 4th starter or relievers…….it was 53 years ago)
    1st- Orlanda Cepeda
    2nd-Julian Javier
    ss-Dal Maxvill
    3rd-Mike Shannon
    lf-Lou Brock
    Cf- Curt Flood
    Rf-Roger Maris( my favorite player)
    ph-Bobby Tolan
    mgr- Red Schoendienst

    More Bob:

    “One of baseball’s most uncompromising competitors, the two-time Cy Young Award winner spent his entire 17-year career with St. Louis and was named the World Series MVP in their 1964 and ’67 championship seasons. The Cards came up just short in 1968, but Gibson was voted the National League’s MVP and shut down opponents so well that baseball changed the rules for fear it would happen again.

    – he struck out a World Series record 17 batters in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series against Detroit.
    – 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.
    – In 1968, thirteen of his 22 wins were shutouts, leading McCarver to call Gibson “the luckiest pitcher I ever saw. He always pitches when the other team doesn’t score any runs.”

    – Hank Aaron once counselled Atlanta Braves teammate Dusty Baker about Gibson.
    “Don’t dig in against Bob Gibson; he’ll knock you down,” Aaron said, according to the Boston Globe. “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’ve played a couple of hundred games of tic-tac-toe with my little daughter and she hasn’t beaten me yet,” he once told The New Yorker’s Roger Angell. “I’ve always had to win. I’ve got to win.”
    – Only the second Black (after Don Newcombe) to win the Cy Young Award, he was an inspiration when insisting otherwise. Gibson would describe himself as a “blunt, stubborn Black man” who scorned the idea he was anyone’s role model and once posted a sign over his locker reading “I’m not prejudiced. I hate everybody.”

    Thx for the memories, Bob.

    1. I hear you. Sometime after I left home in 1970, my mother decided that my cards, a shopping bag full in a large mostly empty attic, weren’t necessary or mine anymore. God bless you mom.

    2. I’ll match your 64 and 67 Cards with my 63 and 65 Dodgers.
       In 63, the Dodgers won 99 games in the NL and swept the Yankees in the World Series. They held the Yankees to 4 runs total, the Yankees who scored 714 runs and hit 188 HR in the AL, and had Elston Howard, Joe Pepitone, Tom Tresh, and Roger Maris, plus Mantle who was hurt most of the year but played in the Series.
       C-John Roseboro, 1B-Ron Fairly, 2B-Jim (no longer Junior) Gilliam, SS-Maury Wills, 3B-by committee (we always had trouble there, McMillen, Skowron, Tracewski), LF-Tommy Davis, CF-Willie Davis, RF-Frank Howard. OF-Wally Moon. The starting three was possibly the best ever in baseball, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Johnny Podres. Fourth starter was split between Bob Miller and Rick Richert. Reliever par excellence was Ron Perranoski, who vultured 16 wins as compared to 3 losses.
       In 1965, Fairly replaced Howard in RF, with West Parker, known for his defense taking over First. Jim Gilliam took over 3B, with the emergence of Jim Lefebvre (pronounced le fever) at 2B, and sweet Lou Johnson playing most of LF for an injured Tommy Davis. Claude Osteen became a regular starter.
       That team took 7 games to beat the Twins, coming back from a 0-2 deficit with the Twins bombing both Drysdale and Koufax. But Koufax had his revenge, shutting out the Twins in game 5, and coming back from 2 days rest to do it again in game 7.
       That was the glorious decade in Los Angeles sports. The Trojans (ugh) were winning the mythical NC in FB, while the UCLA Bruins won 5 NC in the last 6 years of the decade in basketball, en route to winning 10 in 12 years. One year, if you split the UCLA men’s track and field team into two, the track team would still win the NC, while the field team would finish second. In the Seoul Olympics, if UCLA were a country, it would finish fourth behind the USA, USSR, and East Germany. (And we had three quarters of the gold medal 4x400M men’s relay team.) You could wander over to the UCLA tennis center, and watch the World’s Number One Arthur Ashe beat the World’s Number Two Stan Smith. Team championship in NCAA tennis used to be awarded by accumulated victories by individual singles and doubles. One year we advanced all four players into the round of 16, and both double teams into the quarter finals, and had already won the NCAA. (Ashe went on to win the singles and doubles championship) Those were the days, except for always just falling short to the Trojans in FB.

       1. “Jim Lefebvre (pronounced le fever)”
          That’s interesting. OT but any Lefebvres from these parts pronounce that name Le Fave.
          That name was present in New France from the earliest times. Pure laine. Oops using that term is now deemed politically incorrect.

          1. That was how Vince Scully pronounced it, presumably that was how Jim wanted it. Imagine, Scully was already a veteran then. He came west with the Dodgers.
             I guess those days you try to anglicize (or is it Americanize) the last names. My last name is English, a loose transliteration of my Chinese surname. (Not my surname, but the surname which became Young in English then revert to the closer transliteration of Yang now.)

    3. I met him at my Dad’s grocery store. Omaha. They were friends. He was rather pleasant as I recall.

    4. I was fifteen in 1967, so I, too, remember the world series, and I’m surprised to find that Nelson Briles started only fourteen games for the Cardinals that season. Carlton led the staff in starts with twenty-eight, Dick Hughes and Ray Washburn had twenty-seven each, Gibson started twenty-four, and Larry Jaster started 23. Al Jackson also started 11. Nelson Briles was the only Cardinals pitcher not named Bob Gibson who won a game in the 1967 World Series.

11. I remember an opening day game in 1970 Cardinals vs Cubs. Bob Gibson vs Ferguson Jenkins. What a battle. Both men pitched complete games that ended in extra innings when the Cubs walked it off with a homer in the 10th for a 2-1 win. Jenkins being Canadian was my pitching hero, but Gibson occupies the first ring in the Pitching Gods Pantheon. They just don’t make them like that any more.

    https://www.mlb.com/news/fergie-jenkins-1971-opening-day-duel-bob-gibson

12. My dad was a good friend of his. I remember meeting him at my Dad’s grocery store in Omaha, Nebr.

    1. Lucky you.

13. This is one of the best threads. SDA man!

    It was a magical era in baseball. I grew up listening to BB on the crystal radio ha. My Mother was a Cleveland Indians fan…..

    I’ve seen many games live. I can’t say I’m a fan of the modern era with the upper cut swing, no small ball, pitchers who come in and their worried if the pitch count gets over 20 arrrugh. Oh and I hate the blue jays.

    Bob Gibson a man’s man

    1. I know what you mean by no small ball.
       Of course, the Dodgers of the era could win consistently with small ball, with the pitching they had, and the rabbits at the top of the batting order: Wills, Gilliam, W. Davis, T. Davis. IIRC, Tommy led the league in RBI without being a power hitter, but he always came up with runner in scoring position. The running joke was top of the first, Wills walks, steals second, goes to third on a ground out, and comes home on a sac fly. Then they told Sandy we got you your run, now go out and win the game.
       It still pains me that when we got the leadoff batter to second, and the next batter makes an out to the left side without advancing the runner. It seems “advancing the runner” is not a concept any more. But that is kind of understandable because almost every non-pitcher on the Dodgers now has power, even the reserves, except for the starting third baseman Turner, who hits .300, and the reserve catcher Barnes (made a reserve by the rookie called up in midseason.)

14. Pitching to Norm Cash in that picture.

15. Don’t forget the ’68 series against Detroit. Gibson twice beat 31-game winner Denny Mclain, and then pitched against Mickey (The Fatman) Lolich in game 7. Lolich was also pitching his 3rd game of the series. The Tigers won 4-1.

    Both Lolich and Gibson had amazing lines for the series. 3 starts each, 27 innings each – all complete games.! I think it’s safe to say that will never happen again. They each allowed 5 earned runs. Gibson finally cracked in the 7th inning of the 7th game, allowing 3 runs. First time he ever looked human to me!

    1968, aka “Year of the pitcher” led to a number of rule changes, most notably lowering the mound. McLain’s 31 wins in the AL, and Gibson’s 1.12 ERA in the NL helped bring them around.

16. Years ago, I saw the Montreal Expos play at the Big O and met Tim Raines at a Mall, where he signed posters for the many mall-rat kids that wanted them.

    I still see people wearing Expos baseball caps, even here in Calgary. They’re in mourning for their team. The hat makers have made them in Black! Did you, dear baseball fan, know that they have black Expos baseball caps?

    Don’t know a lot about this featured player, Bob Gibson, may he RIP. Great action-shot photo of him pitching that ball!

    To me, Baseball means the sound of Summer. It’s nice!

    1. Before your time, young ‘un. He pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals in the sixties and seventies. He was one of the great ones, but I’ll always think the greatest in my lifetime was Sandy Koufax. (Past tense on his career, not his life.) Too bad his career was cut short at its prime by arthritis. No one can match the last four years of his career, 1963-1966. He had an ERA of 1.86 over that span. In his three full seasons, averaged 40 starts and 26 wins and only seven losses. In his one shortened season, he was 19-5 for 28 starts. He struck out 1322 batters in the four seasons in 1192.2 innings (132.5 9-inn games), the lowest total for a full season was 306, and walked only 261 batters.
       When Sandy first came in the league (direct from college), his fast ball was over 105 mph (maybe higher, I forgot and am being conservative) but he was wild. He got beat in a no-hit game with 16 strikeouts because all the walks came around to score. He learned that if he slowed down to 98, he could spot the ball exactly. So in essence he became a control pitcher, who happened to have the best fastball and best curve. And those were basically the only two pitches he had.

    2. Nancy and OldBruin,

       I’ve been a Dodger fan all my life. Sandy Koufax was my hero. I was a wee seed when Sandy was still pitching but I would get to see him on the western game of the NBC game of the week and I would listen to the world series on the radio. Koufax is a notoriously private person and seldom lets people get to know him. He was uncharacteristically open with Jane Leavey who wrote a biography called Sandy Koufax, A Lefty’s Legacy. It’s a good read if you’re interested in Koufax.

       Even after Montreal and Toronto got teams, I still followed the Dodgers. I was watching the Dodgers/Expos 1981 Pennant Series in a crowded bar in Toronto with a big group of people. I was the only person cheering when Rick Monday broke the Expos heart with his home run. My loud cheer could be heard throughout the bar. The place was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I realized it was probably a good idea to shut up after that. Koufax’s long time teammate Ron Perranoski was in his first year as pitching coach for the Dodgers that season. On a sadder note, Perranoski died on the same day as Bob Gibson last week. He was 84.

       I hadn’t seen the Dodgers play live. My brother was dating a girl from Montreal and her father got him some Dodger/Expo tickets. He invited me along, so we made the drive to Montreal. I was thrilled. Now this was a game at the Big Owe and the fabric that stretched across the roof opening to make it a closed stadium had failed and was taken down for repairs. Unfortunately it rained. In fact it was the first rain out in Big Owe history. It was really unusual because of the nature of the roof. It only rained on the field. All the seating was under the structural roof and stayed perfectly dry. Meanwhile the field was drenched and the players were acting like kids sliding on the artificial turf. Because it was technically a domed stadium, there was no tarp to cover the field. So the trip was a bust.

       I didn’t get to see a Dodger game until I took a business trip to San Francisco and bought tickets from a scalper–but if you’re going to choose your first Dodgers game, you can’t do any worse than Dodgers/Giants. I’ve been to LA many times during baseball season, but my timing has been horrible and the Dodgers have always been out of town.

17. OldBruin and Steve E…
    I am impressed by how much you and others who wrote here know about Baseball players and statistics.

    I’m sorry I can’t offer much except maybe this bit which is now history:

    Steve you said your favourite team was the Dodgers. (Your story about visiting Mtl was a “gosh, darn it!”)

    I long ago saw the ‘tear down’ of the old DeLorimier stadium that Trudeau’s grandfather and others built for the Montreal Royals which was the farm team for the Dodgers. It took a long time. Every time I passed it, there was less of it. This was where Jackie Robinson first played. In the movie “42” which I saw, they never mentioned Montreal. I was quite surprised.
     
    Also at one time, Chuck Connors played there as well. He was later better known as the “Rifleman” in the TV series by the same name. (My brother loved that show!)

    Old Bruin! Young -un yourself Haha! I give you the prize for most knowledgeable about SPORTS here at SDA!

    So, well, guys who is going to win the WORLD SERIES? Any predictions?

    https://tinyurl.com/y4hozmkv

    1. The Dodgers are head and shoulders the best team in baseball this year, but this is 2020. Their ace, Clayton Kershaw, who some have compard to Sandy Koufax, has, unfortunately, not shared his ability to pitch well in the pressure games of the playoffs. Dave Roberts is also sure to make a questionable move or two. So I’ve got my fingers crossed. Meanwhile the dreaded Yankees and cheating Astros seem to be peaking at just the right time.

       1. Just noticed that the World Series begins around the 20th to 27th. This year I want to get into it.

          A few years ago I enjoyed a long semi-final game because it was a tie. I think it went over 18 innings! It was like watching 2 games!

          Let the best team win!

          P.S. My neighbour’s son is in 2nd year University in the States. He has the potential for the Big Leagues and wants it badly. I saw him grow up from baby to now a 6 footer! You should see him pitch!

          1. That’s amazing.

             My son’s schoolmate (he just graduated from high school) was chosen in the second round of the Major League Draft. The San Diego Padres selected him 45th overall. They flew him to San Diego where he stayed with the team’s young star Fernando Tatis Jr. He also spent some time on Manny Machado’s private yacht. He’s 6′ 4″ and weighed 190 pounds when he was drafted in June. The team has put him on a special diet and weight training progam. He’s already gained 15 pounds. His mother is spending $1,000 a week on groceries to feed him.

             The kid is 13th in San Diego’s prospect chart. He was originally assigned to Arizona in the minor leagues but there was no minor league season this year. He had originally commited to the University of Michigan but decided to sign with the Padres when they drafted him. He played for the Canadian Junior team. Every year they play the Blue Jays in spring training. He hit a home run off Major League pitching. He doesn’t turn 18 for a couple of months.

             1. That’s amazing, Steve.
                Let’s hope these guys both do well. We’ll have to touch base if these kids make it, perhaps they might play against each other some day or even on the same team. That would be a hoot!