Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1968
- Class:
- 1957
Bob Gibson starred in both baseball and basketball with the Bluejays, and finished his college career in 1957 third with 1,272 career points (he's currently 21st). He remains in the top-five in CU history in free throws made (418), free throw attempts (575) and scoring average (20.19 ppg).
Gibson later became the first member of the Creighton Athletic Hall of Fame in 1968, joined the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame as an "Institutional Great" in 2005, and was part of the St. Louis Cardinals inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2014. His No. 45 was retired by the Creighton Basketball program, as well as the St. Louis Cardinals. Gibson was also honored with a spot on Major League Baseball's All-Century Team in 1999.
A member of the Harlem Globetrotters in 1957-58, Gibson made his Major League baseball debut with St. Louis in 1959 and would become the greatest pitcher in Cardinals’ history. On the franchise’s career lists, he is first in wins (251), complete games (255), shutouts (56), innings pitched (3,884.1) and strikeouts (3,117).
After losing Game 2 of the 1964 World Series to the New York Yankees, Gibson posted complete-game wins in Game 5 (5-2 in 10 innings) and Game 7 (7-5) and earned Series MVP honors.
In 1967, he was sidelined 52 days after a line drive off the bat of Pittsburgh’s Roberto Clemente broke his right leg, but returned to pitch the N.L. pennant clincher on Sept. 18 and went 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA, three complete games and 26 strikeouts in the Cardinals’ World Series victory over the Boston Red Sox.
In 1968, Gibson authored the greatest season by a pitcher in modern history -- 22-9 record with a 1.12 ERA, 13 shutouts and 268 strikeouts. He was named the N.L. Cy Young Award winner and MVP.
He won his second Cy Young Award in 1970 (23-7, 3.12 ERA). He fired a no-hitter against Pittsburgh in 1971, and became the second pitcher in baseball history to record 3,000 career strikeouts on July 17, 1974 (following Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators).
The winner of nine Gold Gloves and a nine-time N.L. All-Star, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1981 -- his first year of eligibility.
“Gibby” served as pitching coach for the New York Mets (1981) and Atlanta Braves (1982-84) and bullpen coach for the St. Louis Cardinals (1995). Gibson has also done some broadcasting and has been a special instructor for the Cardinals since 1996.
