Bob Gibson, Cardinals legend and Hall of Fame pitcher, dies at 84

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Bob Gibson, Cardinals legend and Hall of Fame pitcher, dies at 84

A-K-A: Bullet Bob

Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson has died after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer,
the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.


Mark Townsend 7 hrs ago


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Gibson starred for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1959-1975, leading them to two World Series championships in 1964 and 1967. He won two Cy Young awards, a regular season MVP in 1968, two World Series MVPs and was selected to nine All-Star teams.

Gibson was famous for finishing what he started. Of his 528 career starts in MLB, 255 were complete game outings. In 1968, Gibson pitched 13 shutouts and finished with a sparkling 1.12 ERA that is considered the modern-era standard.

When all was said and done, Gibson finished his career with 251 wins, 3,117 strikeouts and a 2.91 ERA over 3,884 1/3 innings. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.

Gibson's road to big leagues was met with several obstacles. Early in life, he battled multiple medical issues, including rickets, pneumonia, asthma, hay fever and a heart problem.

He overcame each to not only become arguably the greatest pitcher in Cardinals' history, but one of the true greats in MLB history.

The news of Gibson's death continues a tough year for the Cardinals. On Sept. 6, fellow legend baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock died after a long health battle. Brock was 81.


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St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson is pictured during spring training, March 1968
 

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As a child, he overcame bouts with asthma, rickets and a heart murmur but still went on to become Creighton University's first African American baseball player and basketball player, according to MLB.

Focused and determined as he was, he scored two contracts after college with both the Cardinals and the Harlem Globetrotters before eventually deciding to stick with the former, according to MLB.

In 1968, Gibson won his first Cy Young and MVP awards after finishing the season with 22 wins, a major league record 1.12 ERA and 268 strikeouts. His dominant season in 1968 led MLB to lower the pitching mound the following year.

Gibson retired after the 1975 season as the Cardinals all-time leader in:

- wins (251),
- strikeouts (3,117),
- shutouts (56),
- Games started (482) and
- complete games (255).
The two-time Cy Young winner holds the record for most strikeouts in a World Series game (17) and in a World Series (35).


"I was just out there doing what I knew how to do and that's pretty much as simple as it gets," Gibson said in a previous interview posted in an MLB video this week.

Gibson's death comes just weeks after the passing of two other baseball legends: Hall of Famers Tom Seaver and Lou Brock.

"So sad to face reality that Tom, Lou & now Bob are gone," Cardinals former manager Tony La Russa wrote on Twitter. "Impossible to fill the gaps that exist with them gone. Wishing their families peace."

CNN's Christina Maxouris contributed to this report.

 
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