Major League Baseball lost a legend and leader known for his fierce competitiveness.
Bob Gibson, an African-American professional baseball player, who pitched 17 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals, died Oct. 2 of pancreatic cancer at the age of 84, in his hometown of Omaha, Neb. His teammate, Tim McCarver will miss his dear friend, who was closer than a brother and had a sense of humor, known to few.
“Nobody was like him ever in the history of the game,” said McCarver. “And I am as proud as can be that I can say I caught for him 197 starts.”
McCarver was Gibson’s catcher. He said he had his first major league start in Chicago with Gibson at the age of 17 and from that point they had an extraordinary relationship, “one of closely knit friendship, of trust, of laughter.” McCarver reflected on how Gibson was a great storyteller. He said Gibson had to be in the right mood, which wasn’t for a lot of people.
“Tim McCarver was our host, so he interviewed him, so that was very intimate,” said Jim Moskovitz, Producer of “The Tim McCarver Show”, now “Game Time with Boomer Esiason”.
Moskovitz said Gibson joined the show several times and loved talking about the battle between the hitter and pitcher when on the show. “He was a bit protective,” Moskovitz said. “Once he got on air, I thought he was the best person we had.”
Gibson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. According to MLB, between 1959 and 1975, the five-time 20 game winner, had 251 career wins and lifetime ERA of 2.91. Gibson won two World Series championships in 1964 and 1967 and won MVP both years. “Any place he willed it there and had a remarkable presence to zero in that outside corner,” McCarver said about Gibson’s pitching.
Gibson won the NL Cy Young awards in 1968 and 1970. The Cardinals lost the World Series to the Detroit Tigers in 1968, but Gibson won the NL MVP. He had a 22-9 record, with 13 shutouts, 268 strikeouts, and a 1.12 ERA during the regular season. “To give up 1.1…an average of 1.12 earned runs per nine innings, do you understand how magnanimous that is in the world of baseball?,” McCarver asked. “It’s startling.”
Washington Post syndicated columnist George F. Will, explained why it was so remarkable. “If you have a bad inning somewhere along the line, that could blow that whole thing up, give up five – six earned runs in one inning, which happens to great pitchers,” Will said. “It didn’t happen to Gibson that year. He was just so ferociously good. His demeanor was scary.”
Will said Gibson radiated a quiet ferocious dignity, with his cap pulled over his eyes, working very fast. “He gave baseball one of its greatest seasons, arguably the greatest season a single pitcher ever had,” Will said.
Will first met Gibson at the funeral of teammate Curt Flood. Will was writing an article about how Flood challenged a clause in his contract when traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. “They simply did not have the basic American right to sell their labor to the employer of their choice,” Will said.
He said Gibson respected this type of courage. Gibson and his teammate Bill White caused Major League Baseball to push back against Jim Crow restrictions at restaurants and hotels in Florida during their spring training at the time, Will said.
McCarver said the Cardinal team in the 60s was an example of how athletes should get along. “And one of the big people in setting that example was Bob Gibson,” McCarver said. “Bob was a leader without even trying to be, without saying anything.”
McCarver will remember and miss Gibson for his laughter, the kind that made him lighten-up from playing days until present.
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