Pack Robert Gibson (1935 - 2020)

Born 9 Nov 1935 in Nebraska, United States

Ancestors

Died 2 Oct 2020 at age 84 in Omaha, Douglas, Nebraska, United States

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Biography

Bob Gibson is Notable.

Bob "Hoot" Gibson was an Afro-American professional baseball pitcher who played his entire career for Major League Baseball's (MLB) St. Louis Cardinals. A two-time World Series champion (1964, 1967) and nine-time All-Star, Gibson also won two Cy Young Awards, and was the 1968 National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP). He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981, in his first year of eligibility. He was elected to the MLB's All-Century Team in 1999. The Cardinals retired his uniform number 45 in September 1975 and inducted him into the team Hall of Fame in 2014.

The 1964 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees made Hoot Gibson a recognizable baseball hero. His complete game victories in Games 5 and 7 brought St. Louis their first World Series trophy in 18 years. Gibson was named the World Series MVP.

In the 1967 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals, Gibson had three complete game victories, including a five hit shut-out in game 4. In game 7, Gibson not only recorded the final out, but he also contributed a home run, making the score 3-0. He remains the only pitcher to be on the mound for that final out in multiple years of World Series play.

Early Life

Gibson was the youngest child of seven siblings, born to Pack and Victoria Brown Gibson. His father died of tuberculosis three months before Gibson's birth and he was named in honor of his father. Though he revered his father, Gibson disliked his first name and later legally changed it to Robert. Victoria worked as a house cleaner and took in laundry to make ends meet. For most of his childhood, the Gibson family lived in the Logan-Fontenelle housing project on Omaha’s north side. His siblings were: Joshua, born in 1920, in Louisiana; Richard, born in 1922, in Louisiana; Buelah, born in 1927, in Louisiana; Frederick, born in 1928, in Nebraska; Bobby Jean, born in 1930, in Nebraska, and David, born in 1933, in Nebraska.

As a child, Gibson suffered from several health problems including rickets and asthma. His eldest brother, Josh, who was 15 years older, became a mentor and father figure for Bob.

“He had always been the central figure in my life – father, coach, teacher, and role model. … Josh led by example. He required no more from any of us than he gave himself. … He would have loved to have the opportunity … to pursue a career in professional sports. … But since that avenue was closed for him – the color barriers were not broken in time to help Josh – he did as he told me I would otherwise have to do: He got an education. And don’t think the boys on the team didn’t notice. … We were all, one way or another, a reflection of Josh.” (Quote taken from Bob Gibson with Lonnie Wheeler, Stranger To The Game: The Autobiography of Bob Gibson, New York: Penguin Books, 1994)

Gibson spent much of his boyhood playing on teams organized by his brother Josh at the local recreational center. His first love was basketball, with baseball a secondary interest.

Gibson attended Omaha's Technical High School, where he ran track, setting a state record for the indoor high jump, and played basketball. Though he tried out for the baseball team, he was not selected because the coach said he was a day late for the tryout. In reality, the coach did not want a black player. The following year, a new coach welcomed Gibson to the team, where he played in the outfield and was a pitcher.

Gibson was selected to both Omaha's Al- City (unanimously)and the All-State Basketball Teams after his senior season. His baseball team won Omaha's inter-city championship and Gibson was selected to the All-City team as a utility player. His .368 batting average was the second highest among all high school players in the city.

College

Gibson was awarded a full athletic scholarship for basketball, a first for an Afro-American, to Creighton University. He had also applied to Indiana University, but had been rejected because their "Negro athlete quota" had been filled. Gibson majored in sociology at Creighton.

Though Gibson was scouted by the Cardinals and offered a modest contract after high school, brother Josh insisted he go to college. By the time his career at Creighton was over, Gibson was the university’s all-time leader in points per game (20.2) and third in total points (1,272). Gibson’s basketball jersey number (No. 45) is one of three that have been retired by Creighton (as of 2011).

Gibson was also on the baseball team at Creighton, though baseball was treated as a minor sport. Gibson was a superb utility player at Creighton, where he caught, pitched, and played third base and the outfield. In his senior year he led the Nebraska College Conference with a .333 batting average and went 6-2 as a pitcher.

The Harlem Globetrotters

The year 1957 was an eventful one for Gibson. In the Spring he married Charline Johnson just before his graduation from Creighton. At the time, the Harlem Globetrotters were barnstorming the country with their brand of highly entertaining basketball against a group of college all-stars that accompanied them on their tours. Typically, the Globetrotters asked a local college player in each city in which they played to join the all-star team. When they played in Omaha in the spring of 1957, Gibson was joined the collegians for that game. His opportunity to play came late in the third quarter, and he made such an impression that he was recruited to join the Globetrotters team. Gibson told the Globetrotters he could not consider their offer until school and the baseball season were over. Gibson had signed a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals to begin playing for them after graduation as well. Gibson negotiated a deal that allowed him to play the rest of the baseball season in the Cardinals’ minor-league system, after which he would join the Globetrotters.

Gibson played on Globetrotters travel team for one season before leaving to play baseball. He cited the long travels away from his new wife and family as well as the exhausting schedule of double headers as a reason to focus solely on baseball.

St. Louis Cardinals Career

The 1957 season found Gibson playing for the St. Louis' minor league affiliate team in Omaha, where he won his first game on June 23. He moved up to the Columbus, Georgia Class A team for the rest of the season in mid July. In Georgia, Gibson became more fully aware of racial discrimination that he had not experienced before. This was a part of every day living for Blacks in the Southern States. He was forced to live in the Black part of town, away from his teammates, and jeered at with racial taunts by fans at the ballpark. He felt fortunate that the minor league season was short and he could return home.

Gibson split his time in the 1958 season between St. Louis' triple A teams in Omaha and Rochester, NY. He played in 38 games and finished with an earned run average of .284 and an overall record of 8-9. His fast ball was voted best in the league by at the end of that season by league managers.

Bob Gibson made his big league debut on April 15, 1959, pitching two innings in relief in a 5-0 loss to the Dodgers. That outing sent Gibson back to the minor league and for the next two seasons he shuttled between triple A Ohaha and Rochester. He finally returned to the big leagues for good in June, 1960, only the face a manager, Solly Hemus, with strong negative feelings towards Black players.

Hemus refused to field any Black player unless there was no one else available to play that day. Black players including Curt Flood and Marshall Bridges wondered why the "best team" was not playing. That season, Hemus' bigotry was fully exposed when he called opposing pitcher Bennie Daniels "a black s. o. b." during a game which lead to an on field fight. Hemus later recounted the exchange in front of the players in the locker room.

The 1961 season began just as the 1960 season had ended, with Gibson being used for spot starts out called out of the bull pen to finish a late inning. By July the team record was 33-41and management fired Hemus and hired Johnny Keane to manage the Cardinals. "It was a whole new world for the black players,” Gibson said later. The team completed the year with a record of 80-74. Gibson posted a 13-12 record with a 3.24 ERA. His control of his fast ball improved and he developed his secondary pitches during the season.

With Hemus gone, and the team winning, the clubhouse became more companionable. The Black players lead the way to establishing an open-minded atmosphere that challenged racial stereotypes and worked to lessen racial tension. Gibson, along with Bill White, Curt Flood, started a civil rights movement to make all players live in the same clubhouse and hotel rooms, and led the St. Louis Cardinals to become the first sports team to end segregation. That cohesiveness was an important contribution to the winning ways of the St. Louis Cardinals of the 1960's and early 1970's.

The 1964 Cardinals were truly a Cinderella team. Behind in the standings when under performing outfielder Lou Brock was traded to the team from the Cubs. His bat started to find the ball and by late July, the team began to rise in the standings. With 2 weeks left of the season, the Cardinals were just 6 games back from the league leading Phillies. But an epic collapse by the Phillies allowed the Cardinals to win the pennant on the last day of the season. Gibson had already won 18 games during the season, a career high, and pitched 4 innings in relief that last day to earn his 19th win against the Mets, 11-4. The Cardinals faced the New York Yankees in the 1964 World Series.

The Series went 7 games with Gibson pitching the 2nd, 5th and 7th, with only two days rest, games, winning the 5th and 7th against Yankee great Mel Stottlemyre. Gibson set a World Series record for for strikeouts retiring 31 Yankees. It was the first Series win for the Cardinals since 1946 and helped establish Gibson as one of the fiercest competitors in the league.

While the 1965 season ended with the Cardinals well out of World Series contention, Gibson recorded his first 20 win season, getting that elusive 20th on the last day of the season.

By the 1967 All-Star break, the Cardinals had built a 3+1⁄2-game lead, and Gibson was again selected to pitch for the National League in the All-Star game. He pitched the seventh and eighth innings. When he returned after the break, Gibson faced the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 15, 1967.  Roberto Clemente hit a line drive off Gibson's right leg. Unaware his leg had been fractured, Gibson faced three more batters before his right fibula bone snapped above the ankle, the same ankle he had broken in batting practice in 1962. The headlines of after the game cemented his competitive reputation.

After Gibson returned on September 7, the Cardinals secured the National League pennant on September 18, 10+1⁄2 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants, winning 101 season games, on their way to another World Series against the Boston Red Sox.

The 1967 World Series again had Gibson pitching three complete game victories - games 1, 4 which was a 5 hit shut out, and 7. Gibson allowed only 3 earned runs and 14 hits over the three games he pitched. Gibson's performance earned him another MVP award, this one followed by several endorsement contracts and sponsorship for his asthma medication, which had been denied him in 1964.

Major league baseball historians have dubbed 1968 the "Year of the Pitcher". With American League's Denny McClain winning 31 games for the Detroit Tigers and Don Drysdale's record setting 59 scoreless innings for the National League's Pittsburgh Pirates, Gibson was challenged to maintain his MVP status. He succeeded beyond all expectations, posting an ERA of 1.12, fifth lowest season ERA of all time. He finished with a record of 22-9, and had his own streak of 47 scoreless innings. He threw 28 complete games, including 13 shutouts. Gibson was voted league MVP and was a unanimous selection for the National League Cy Young Award in 1968. The Cardinals won the pennant for the second year in a row and took on the Tigers and Denny McClain, the American League's Cy Young winner, in the World Series.

Gibson, with his 90+mph 4 seam fast ball bested McClain in the first game, striking out a record setting 17 batters in a complete game victory. Gibson pitched another complete game with game 4, giving him the record of 7 complete game victories in World Series play.

With the series tied at 3 games apiece, Gibson took the mound for game 7 against Tiger's lefty Mickie Lolich. The scoreless pitchers dual lasted into the 7th inning, when Detroit capitalized on an error by Curt Flood. The Tigers won 4-1.

The Cardinal's success began to falter after the 1968 World Series loss. Player trades, and union and management strife impacted negatively on clubhouse morale and the team's production. Though Gibson continued to be one of the league's fiercest competitors and have productive seasons, the Tigers were no longer a pennant contender.

In 1970, Gibson won 23 games and was awarded his second Cy Young. He had two notable outings in August, 1971: on the 4th he pitched his 200th career win and pitched his only no-hitter on the 14th against the Pirates in their stadium. In 1972 Gibson was voted an All-Star for the seventh and final time. Two years later, in July, 1974, Gibson achieved his 3000th strike out. He was the second pitcher to reach this mark and the first in the National League.

The 1975 season would be Gibson's last as a pitcher. Bothered with ongoing knee problems and coping with his divorce from his wife Charline, Gibson had one of his worst years posting a 3-10 record and an ERA of 5.04. Gibson remains one of baseballs fiercest competitive pitchers to ever to take the mound. His fast pace, frequent "brush back" pitches to keep batters away from the plate and pinpoint control made him both hard to hit and intimidating to batters.

Life After Baseball

Unsure which direction to pursue, Gibson spent the last few years in the 1970's trying various interests away from baseball. He toured the western US; was on the Board of Directors for a local bank that catered to the Afro-American population in Omaha; and opened a restaurant where he was heavily involved with the day to day operations. He also married his second wife, Wendy Nelson in 1979.

Joe Torre, then the manager for the NY Mets, hired Gibson in 1981 as an "attitude coach". The Mets management fired the coaching staff after the 1981 season and Gibson followed Torre to Atlanta Braves where Gibson was the pitching coach for two years. Torre and his staff were fired by the Braves after the 1984 season.

Gibson followed up with several other coaching positions but was never selected by another team until Torre was hired by the Cardinals in 1990. Torre again turned to Gibson as his pitching coach for the 1995 season. Gibson retired from coaching after the 1995 season.

Personal Life

Gibson was married twice. First to Charline Johnson in 1957 with whom he had two daughters. They divorced in 1975. He married his second wife, Wendy Nelson, in 1979 and they have one son.

Gibson authored two books: his autobiography, Stranger To The Game: The Autobiography of Bob Gibson, which he wrote with Lonnie Wheeler in 1994 New York: Penguin Books, 1994; and  Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher and a Hall of Fame Hitter Talk About How the Game Is Played with Reggie Jackson andcLonnie Wheeler in 2009.

In July, 2019 it was announced that Gibson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died in October, 2020 from the disease.

Awards and Honors

•Gibson's jersey number 45 was retired by the St. Louis Cardinals on September 1, 1975.

•In 1981 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame.

•In 1999 he ranked Number 31 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

•He was the first inductee into the Creighton University Athletics Hall of Fame (1968), and the university created the Robert Gibson Scholarship in 2005 in honor of his career achievements.

•He was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Omaha Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.

•He has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

•A bronze statue of Gibson by Harry Weber is located in front of Busch Stadium, commemorating Gibson along with other St. Louis Cardinals greats. Another statue of Gibson was unveiled outside of Werner Park in Gibson's home city, Omaha, Nebraska, in 2013.

•The street on the north side of Rosenblatt Stadium, former home of the College World Series in his hometown of Omaha, is named Bob Gibson Boulevard.

•In January 2014, the Cardinals announced Gibson among 22 former players and personnel to be inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum for the inaugural class of 2014.[

•At the time of his death, Gibson still led the Cardinals franchise's pitching records in wins (251), games started (482), complete games (255), shutouts (56), innings pitched (3,884.1) and strikeouts (3,117) along with a 2.91 ERA.

•Gibson's win-loss record was 251-174 with 3,117 strikeouts, and a 2.91 earned run average (ERA) during his 17 seasons (1959-1975).

Sources

Wikipedia - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Gibson

Society for American Baseball Research -https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bob-gibson/

"United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K999-1CS : 24 December 2019), Victoria Gibson, Ward 2, Omaha, Omaha City, Douglas, Nebraska, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 94-24, sheet 5B, line 55, family 140, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2269.5

 Stranger To The Game: The Autobiography of Bob Gibson by Bob Gibson with Lonnie WheelerNew York: Penguin Books, 1994.

Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher and a Hall of Fame Hitter Talk About How the Game Is Played, by Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson, with Lonnie Wheeler New York: Doubleday, 2009.

STLREDBIRDS.com - https://www.stlredbirds.com/2022/04/17/bob-gibson-faces-three-pirates-with-a-broken-leg/#:~:text=Dutifully%2C%20Bauman%20sprayed%20Gibson's%20leg,temporary%20relief%20of%20minor%20injuries.&text=That%20was%20when%20Bauman%20showed%20him%20the%20dent%20in%20his%20leg.&text=Gibson%20walked%20the%20next%20batter,Curt%20Flood%20in%20center%20field.

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