R I P Bob Gibson

[ajjohnsonsoxfan]

iconic pink card

[triwak]

Was fortunate to have witnessed him pitch in person several times, including during the late 1960's. No one could touch him! And yes, I pulled this card out of the pack when I was 7 years old, and loved it well. And it will ALWAYS remain my "display" card of him, in my HOF collection! R.I.P. Mr. Gibson.

[sforaker]

What a dominant and intimidating pitching great. Was fortunate to see him pitch during his prime. RIP Mr. Gibson.

[icollectDCsports]

I highly recommend this piece from 1980 on Bob Gibson by Roger Angell. Angell spent a few days with Gibson in Omaha. Very informative and insightful. Great writing about a great athlete and person.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1980/09/22/distance

[sforaker]

Great article, thank you.

[ValKehl]

Thomas Boswell is the dean of DC's sports columnists. His column in Today's Wash. Post is about Bob Gibson - here's the link to it for anyone who cares to read it: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...ll-bob-gibson/ I think card collectors will especially enjoy these last couple of paragraphs from Boswell's piece:

"This has been a tough year on my childhood baseball cards as well as my adult memories: Al Kaline, Tom Seaver, Lou Brock, Don Larsen, old Senators such as Dick Hyde and characters such as Jay Johnstone, who once tackled his manager, Tommy Lasorda, in a sliding pit in spring training, then led a renegade band of Dodgers in stuffing sawdust into his whole uniform.

When I heard Gibson passed away, I remembered his blazing-pink 1959 Topps rookie card, No. 514. I searched in my old shoe boxes of cards and almost gave up. Then I realized I had made it the very first card, in the first row of the first box in its own plastic case — a singular place of honor.

Just where it should have been."

I, too, still have my Gibson's 1959 Topps RC that I pulled from a pack when I was a kid. I'd show it, except that I can't because it's not scanned and it's sitting in my safe deposit box.

[71buc]

Great story from the comment section of the Washington post.

"Steve Stone told this Bob Gibson and Tom Seaver story during a White Sox broadcast right after Tom Seaver passed away.

Tom Seaver was a highly touted rookie pitcher and was going up against Bob Gibson one day. When Seaver came up to bat Gibson stuck a pitch right under Seaver's chin, making Seaver hit the ground. Gibson told Seaver, "Welcome to the big leagues kid."

When Bob Gibson came up to bat Tom Seaver stuck a pitch right under Gibson's chin, making Gibson hit the ground. Seaver told Gibson, "It's nice to be here."