51 Facts About Bob Gibson

Bob Gibson became a full-time starting pitcher in July 1961 and earned his first All-Star appearance in 1962.

Bob Gibson won 2 of 3 games he pitched in the 1964 World Series, then won 20 games in a season for the first time in 1965.

Bob Gibson pitched three complete game victories in the 1967 World Series.

Bob Gibson threw a no-hitter in 1971 but began experiencing swelling in his knee in subsequent seasons.

At the time of his retirement in 1975, Bob Gibson ranked second only to Walter Johnson among major-league pitchers in career strikeouts.

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Bob Gibson was the author of the memoir Pitch by Pitch, with Lonnie Wheeler.

Bob Gibson died of pancreatic cancer on October 2,2020, exactly 52 years after his memorable 1968 World Series Game 1 performance in which he struck out 17 Detroit Tigers.

Bob Gibson was born in Omaha, the last of Pack and Victoria Bob Gibson's seven children.

Bob Gibson played on a number of youth basketball and baseball teams his brother coached, many of which were organized through the local YMCA.

Bob Gibson attended Omaha Technical High School, where he participated on the track, basketball, and baseball teams.

Bob Gibson was named to the All-State basketball team during his senior year of high school by a newspaper in Lincoln, Nebraska, and soon after won a full athletic scholarship for basketball from Creighton University.

Bob Gibson delayed his start with the organization for a year, playing basketball with the Globetrotters.

Bob Gibson was assigned to the Cardinals' big league roster for the start of the 1959 season, recording his Major League debut on April 15 as a relief pitcher.

Keane and Bob Gibson shared a positive professional relationship, and Keane immediately moved Bob Gibson into the starting pitching rotation full-time.

The rehabilitation of Bob Gibson's ankle was a slow process, and by May 19 of the 1963 season he had recorded only one win.

The Cardinals faced the New York Mets, and Bob Gibson entered the game as a relief pitcher in the fifth inning.

Bob Gibson was matched against Yankees starting pitcher Mel Stottlemyre for three of the Series' seven games, with Bob Gibson losing Game 2, then winning Game 5.

Bob Gibson made the All-Star team again in the 1965 season, and when the Cardinals were well out of the pennant race by August, attention turned on Bob Gibson to see if he could win 20 games for the first time.

Bob Gibson was still looking for win number 20 on the last day of the season, a game where new Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst rested many of the regular players.

The 1966 season marked the opening of Busch Memorial Stadium for the Cardinals, and Bob Gibson was selected to play in the All-Star Game in front of the hometown crowd that year as well.

Unaware his leg had been fractured, Bob Gibson faced three more batters before his right fibula bone snapped above the ankle.

Just as he had in 1964, Bob Gibson pitched a complete-game victory in Game 7, against Cy Young winner Jim Lonborg, who pitched a 1-hitter in Game 2.

Bob Gibson became the only pitcher to be on the mound for the final out of Game 7 of a World Series multiple times.

Bob Gibson gained endorsement and sponsorship for his asthma medication, namely Primateme mist inhaler and tablets.

Bob Gibson threw 13 shutouts, three fewer than fellow Nebraskan Grover Alexander's 1916 major league record of 16.

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Bob Gibson pitched 47 consecutive scoreless innings during this stretch, at the time the third-longest scoreless streak in major league history.

Bob Gibson struck out 91 batters, and he won two-consecutive NL Player of the Month awards.

Bob Gibson finished the season with 28 complete games out of 34 games started.

Bob Gibson lost nine games against 22 wins, despite his record-setting low 1.

In Game 1 of the 1968 World Series, Bob Gibson struck out 17 Detroit Tigers to set a World Series record for strikeouts in one game, which still stands today.

Bob Gibson joined Ed 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 Three of the 1906 World Series.

On February 4,1969, Bob Gibson appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and said the Major League Baseball Players Association had suggested players consider striking before the upcoming season began.

However, Bob Gibson himself had no immediate contract worries, as the $125,000 salary Bob Gibson requested for 1969 was agreed to by team owner Gussie Busch and the Cardinals, setting a new franchise record for the highest single-season salary.

Bob Gibson became the ninth National League pitcher and the 15th pitcher in Major League history to throw an "immaculate inning".

Bob Gibson experienced an up-and-down 1970 season, marked at the low point by a July slump where he resorted to experimenting with a knuckleball for the first time in his career.

Bob Gibson won 23 games in 1970, and was named the NL Cy Young Award winner.

Bob Gibson was sometimes used by the Cardinals as a pinch-hitter, and in 1970 he hit.

Bob Gibson was the second pitcher in Major League Baseball history, after Walter Johnson, to strike out more than 3,000 batters and the first to do so in the National League.

Bob Gibson accomplished this at home at Busch Stadium on July 17,1974; the victim was Cesar Geronimo of the Cincinnati Reds.

In January 1975, Bob Gibson announced he would retire at the end of the 1975 season, admittedly using baseball to help cope with his recent divorce from his former wife, Charline.

Bob Gibson won nine Gold Glove Awards, was awarded the World Series MVP Award in 1964 and 1967, and won Cy Young Awards in 1968 and 1970.

Bob Gibson was a fierce competitor who rarely smiled and was known to throw brushback pitches to establish dominance over the strike-zone and intimidate the batter, similar to his contemporary and fellow Hall of Famer Don Drysdale.

Bob Gibson casually disregarded his reputation for intimidation, though, saying that he made no concerted effort to seem intimidating.

Unsure of his future career path, Bob Gibson declined and used the motor home the Cardinals had given him as a retirement gift to travel across the western United States during the 1975 offseason.

Bob Gibson returned to baseball in 1981 after accepting a coaching job with Joe Torre, who was then manager of the New York Mets.

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Bob Gibson remained with Torre on the Braves' coaching staff until the end of the 1984 season.

Bob Gibson then took to hosting a pre- and postgame show for Cardinals baseball games on radio station KMOX from 1985 until 1989.

Bob Gibson served as color commentator for baseball games on ESPN in 1990 but declined an option to continue the position over concerns he would have to spend too much time away from his family.

In 1995, Bob Gibson again served as pitching coach on a Torre-led staff, this time returning to the Cardinals.

Bob Gibson was a father to three children: two with his first wife, Charline, and one with his second wife, Wendy.

Bob Gibson died on October 2,2020, at age 84, under hospice care after fighting pancreatic cancer for more than a year.