Hall of Fame
A native of Omaha, NE, Bob Gibson is the seventh “Institutional Great” selection to the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame and becomes the first former Creighton student-athlete inducted into the MVC Hall of Fame.
The Institutional Great distinction honors a player, coach, or athletic administrator who competed or worked at a current league school, when the institution was not a member of the Valley.
A tremendous basketball player, Gibson finished his career as the school’s third-best scorer (1,272 points) and second on the CU list for free throws made in a career (418).
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. He ranks on the franchise’s career lists with wins (251), complete games (255), shutouts (56), inning 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.
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.