Bob Gibson’s Fierce Determination Drove Fireballer to Honor in Cooperstown

 

(my article that appeared in the March 1981 issue of The Sports Journal of Calgary, Alberta Canada shortly after Gibson’s HOF induction)

     Few people can deny that Bob Gibson’s childhood set the tone for his fabulous baseball career.  He had to overcome the adversities of rickets, a heart murmur, pneumonia and the Omaha ghetto.

     Also, Gibson never used his impoverished youth as a crutch to keep him down. He went all out in school and athletics, and never gave up hope of escaping the ghetto. Probably more than anyone else in the history of sports, that same level of determination has persisted within him through the years.

     During his career, Gibson was 251-174 with a 2.91 ERA with 3,117 strikeouts and 56 shutouts. He had five 20-win seasons and could have had four others.

     In 1963, an 18-win season, a broken ankle caused Gibson a miserable April. In 1964, when he won 19, Gibby was kicked out of a game in the fourth inning with the Cards ahead 7-1.  In 1967, he was shelved for two months with a broken leg. In 1972, a rainout cost Gibson number 20.

     Gibby’s greatest regular season game? It was his 1971 no-hitter in Three Rivers Stadium against the then mighty Pittsburgh Pirates. His greatest season was 1968 with a 23-9 record and a modern-day 1.12 ERA, 268 strikeouts and 13 shutouts.

     The tougher the competiton, the higher Gibson rose to the challenge. He won seven straight World Series decisions, had eight complete games in just nine starts therein, a rock bottom 1.89 ERA with 92 strikeouts.  That included 17 in a 1968 contest against the Detroit Tigers.

     “Watching him pitch in 1968,” said former teammate and current Cardinals color commentator Mike Shannon, “was like watching Rembrandt paint a picture; especially with his performance in the 1968 World Series. I talked to a lot of the Tigers after the series, and they said they had never seen a pitcher more overpowering than Gibson was.”

     Gibson could hit and field as well.  His lifetime batting average of .206 includes 24 home runs—five  in two different seasons! His fielding prowess earned him none Gold Gloves.

     All these feats led former battery mate Tim McCarver to insist, “Bob Gibson is the greatest athlete I have seen in any sport.”  None other than Pete Rose, Lou Brock and Henry Aaron claim that Gibson was the most competitive.

     Gibson would almost always shun members of the press, and was even thought by his own teammates to be a loner. But that was part of his determination and single-mindedness. The night before he was to pitch, Gibby was always by himself, making mental preparations for his opponents.

     Even through all the animosity he created, no one could deny Bob Gibson his rightful place in the Baseball Hall of Fame.