Bob Gibson was born on Saturday, November 9, 1935, in Omaha, Nebraska. Gibson was 23 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 15, 1959, with the St. Louis Cardinals. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Bob Gibson baseball stats page.
"Bob Gibson is the luckiest pitcher I ever saw. He always pitches when the other team doesn't score any runs." - McCarver, Tim. Catcher / Teammate. Baseball Players of the 1950s: A Biographical Dictionary of All 1,560 Major Leaguers. Marazzi, Rich. Author. McFarland Publishing. 30 November 2009. Page 129. [Bob Gibson Quotes]
Bob GibsonBob 'Hoot' Gibson Autograph on a 1961 Topps Baseball Card (#211 | Checklist) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Bob GibsonBob Gibson Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
1959 | 24 | Cardinals | 13 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 5 | .375 | 3.33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 75.2 | 333 | 77 | 28 | 35 | 4 | 39 | 2 | 48 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - |
1960 | 25 | Cardinals | 27 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | .333 | 5.61 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 86.2 | 399 | 97 | 54 | 61 | 7 | 48 | 6 | 69 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - |
1961 | 26 | Cardinals | 35 | 27 | 3 | 13 | 12 | .520 | 3.24 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 211.1 | 916 | 186 | 76 | 91 | 13 | 119 | 7 | 166 | 8 | 6 | 1 | - |
1962 | 27 | Cardinals | 32 | 30 | 2 | 15 | 13 | .536 | 2.85 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 233.2 | 967 | 174 | 74 | 84 | 15 | 95 | 9 | 208 | 11 | 10 | 0 | - |
1963 | 28 | Cardinals | 36 | 33 | 2 | 18 | 9 | .667 | 3.39 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 254.2 | 1,088 | 224 | 96 | 110 | 19 | 96 | 1 | 204 | 6 | 13 | 1 | - |
1964 | 29 | Cardinals | 40 | 36 | 3 | 19 | 12 | .613 | 3.01 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 287.1 | 1,191 | 250 | 96 | 106 | 25 | 86 | 9 | 245 | 6 | 9 | 0 | - |
1965 | 30 | Cardinals | 38 | 36 | 1 | 20 | 12 | .625 | 3.07 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 299.0 | 1,233 | 243 | 102 | 110 | 34 | 103 | 6 | 270 | 8 | 11 | 1 | - |
1966 | 31 | Cardinals | 35 | 35 | 0 | 21 | 12 | .636 | 2.44 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 280.1 | 1,119 | 210 | 76 | 90 | 20 | 78 | 5 | 225 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
1967 | 32 | Cardinals | 24 | 24 | 0 | 13 | 7 | .650 | 2.98 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 175.1 | 703 | 151 | 58 | 62 | 10 | 40 | 3 | 147 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
1968 | 33 | Cardinals | 34 | 34 | 0 | 22 | 9 | .710 | 1.12 | 28 | 13 | 0 | 304.2 | 1,161 | 198 | 38 | 49 | 11 | 62 | 6 | 268 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
1969 | 34 | Cardinals | 35 | 35 | 0 | 20 | 13 | .606 | 2.18 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 314.0 | 1,270 | 251 | 76 | 84 | 12 | 95 | 7 | 269 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 0 |
1970 | 35 | Cardinals | 34 | 34 | 0 | 23 | 7 | .767 | 3.12 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 294.0 | 1,213 | 262 | 102 | 111 | 13 | 88 | 9 | 274 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
1971 | 36 | Cardinals | 31 | 31 | 0 | 16 | 13 | .552 | 3.04 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 245.2 | 1,026 | 215 | 83 | 96 | 14 | 76 | 11 | 185 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
1972 | 37 | Cardinals | 34 | 34 | 0 | 19 | 11 | .633 | 2.46 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 278.0 | 1,119 | 226 | 76 | 83 | 14 | 88 | 11 | 208 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
1973 | 38 | Cardinals | 25 | 25 | 0 | 12 | 10 | .545 | 2.77 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 195.0 | 790 | 159 | 60 | 71 | 12 | 57 | 6 | 142 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
1974 | 39 | Cardinals | 33 | 33 | 0 | 11 | 13 | .458 | 3.83 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 240.0 | 1,041 | 236 | 102 | 111 | 24 | 104 | 14 | 129 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
1975 | 40 | Cardinals | 22 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 10 | .231 | 5.04 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 109.0 | 499 | 120 | 61 | 66 | 10 | 62 | 6 | 60 | 6 | 4 | 0 | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
17 Years | 528 | 482 | 21 | 251 | 174 | .591 | 2.91 | 255 | 56 | 6 | 3,884.1 | 16,068 | 3,279 | 1,258 | 1,420 | 257 | 1,336 | 118 | 3,117 | 108 | 102 | 13 | 0 |
Bob GibsonBob Gibson Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1959 | 24 | Cardinals | 21 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .115 | .115 | .192 |
1960 | 25 | Cardinals | 40 | 28 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .179 | .179 | .214 |
1961 | 26 | Cardinals | 40 | 66 | 4 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .197 | .236 | .318 |
1962 | 27 | Cardinals | 42 | 76 | 11 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | .263 | .321 | .342 |
1963 | 28 | Cardinals | 41 | 87 | 12 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 35 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .207 | .274 | .368 |
1964 | 29 | Cardinals | 40 | 96 | 8 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 38 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .156 | .188 | .208 |
1965 | 30 | Cardinals | 42 | 104 | 14 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .240 | .261 | .404 |
1966 | 31 | Cardinals | 46 | 100 | 11 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .221 | .270 |
1967 | 32 | Cardinals | 27 | 60 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .133 | .235 | .133 |
1968 | 33 | Cardinals | 35 | 94 | 3 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 32 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .170 | .233 | .223 |
1969 | 34 | Cardinals | 37 | 118 | 11 | 29 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .246 | .262 | .322 |
1970 | 35 | Cardinals | 40 | 109 | 14 | 33 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .303 | .347 | .404 |
1971 | 36 | Cardinals | 31 | 87 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | .172 | .204 | .264 |
1972 | 37 | Cardinals | 34 | 103 | 12 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .194 | .202 | .398 |
1973 | 38 | Cardinals | 25 | 65 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .185 | .217 | .277 |
1974 | 39 | Cardinals | 33 | 81 | 6 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .210 | .233 | .284 |
1975 | 40 | Cardinals | 22 | 28 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .179 | .242 | .179 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
17 Years | 596 | 1,328 | 132 | 274 | 44 | 5 | 24 | 2 | 144 | 63 | 0 | 415 | 72 | 18 | 8 | 13 | .206 | .243 | .301 |
Bob GibsonBob Gibson Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1959 Cardinals | P | 13 | 9 | 227 | 18 | 1.4 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .889 | 1.90 |
1960 Cardinals | P | 27 | 12 | 260 | 21 | 0.8 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.18 |
1961 Cardinals | P | 35 | 27 | 634 | 51 | 1.5 | 49 | 14 | 35 | 2 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .961 | 2.09 |
1962 Cardinals | P | 32 | 30 | 701 | 56 | 1.8 | 53 | 18 | 35 | 3 | 6 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .946 | 2.04 |
1963 Cardinals | P | 36 | 33 | 764 | 60 | 1.7 | 55 | 27 | 28 | 5 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .917 | 1.94 |
1964 Cardinals | P | 40 | 36 | 862 | 66 | 1.7 | 60 | 24 | 36 | 6 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .909 | 1.88 |
1965 Cardinals | P | 38 | 36 | 897 | 63 | 1.7 | 60 | 27 | 33 | 3 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .952 | 1.81 |
1966 Cardinals | P | 35 | 35 | 841 | 56 | 1.6 | 54 | 26 | 28 | 2 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .964 | 1.73 |
1967 Cardinals | P | 24 | 24 | 526 | 42 | 1.8 | 42 | 19 | 23 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.16 |
1968 Cardinals | P | 34 | 34 | 914 | 50 | 1.5 | 49 | 21 | 28 | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .980 | 1.45 |
1969 Cardinals | P | 35 | 35 | 942 | 56 | 1.6 | 53 | 21 | 32 | 3 | 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .946 | 1.52 |
1970 Cardinals | P | 34 | 34 | 882 | 58 | 1.7 | 54 | 22 | 32 | 4 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .931 | 1.65 |
1971 Cardinals | P | 31 | 31 | 737 | 52 | 1.7 | 49 | 10 | 39 | 3 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .942 | 1.80 |
1972 Cardinals | P | 34 | 34 | 834 | 59 | 1.7 | 58 | 12 | 46 | 1 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .983 | 1.88 |
1973 Cardinals | P | 25 | 25 | 585 | 37 | 1.5 | 35 | 11 | 24 | 2 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .946 | 1.62 |
1974 Cardinals | P | 33 | 33 | 720 | 48 | 1.5 | 46 | 20 | 26 | 2 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .958 | 1.73 |
1975 Cardinals | P | 22 | 14 | 327 | 24 | 1.1 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 3 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .875 | 1.73 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
P Totals | 528 | 482 | 11,653 | 817 | 1.5 | 775 | 291 | 484 | 42 | 46 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .949 | 1.80 | |
17 Years | 528 | 482 | 11,653 | 817 | 1.5 | 775 | 291 | 484 | 42 | 46 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .949 | 1.80 |
Bob GibsonBob Gibson Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1959 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 8 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.6 | 26.0 | 1.23 | 5.71 | 4.64 |
1960 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 13 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.0 | 28.0 | 1.44 | 7.17 | 4.98 |
1961 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 5 | n/a | 66.0 | 2.9 | 6.6 | 1.39 | 7.07 | 5.07 |
1962 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 11 | n/a | 38.0 | 2.7 | 15.2 | 2.19 | 8.01 | 3.66 |
1963 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 4 | n/a | 29.0 | 2.5 | 4.4 | 2.13 | 7.21 | 3.39 |
1964 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.5 | 24.0 | 2.85 | 7.67 | 2.69 |
1965 Cardinals | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 3 | n/a | 20.8 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 2.62 | 8.13 | 3.10 |
1966 Cardinals | 3 | 2 | .600 | 6 | 5 | n/a | 100.0 | 2.9 | 12.5 | 2.88 | 7.22 | 2.50 |
1967 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 3 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.3 | 20.0 | 3.68 | 7.55 | 2.05 |
1968 Cardinals | 1 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.9 | 15.7 | 4.32 | 7.92 | 1.83 |
1969 Cardinals | 5 | 2 | .714 | 1 | 1 | n/a | 118.0 | 3.3 | 14.8 | 2.83 | 7.71 | 2.72 |
1970 Cardinals | 0 | 2 | .000 | 5 | 1 | n/a | 54.5 | 4.4 | 5.7 | 3.11 | 8.39 | 2.69 |
1971 Cardinals | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 43.5 | 3.6 | 8.7 | 2.43 | 6.78 | 2.78 |
1972 Cardinals | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 20.6 | 4.1 | 8.6 | 2.36 | 6.73 | 2.85 |
1973 Cardinals | 1 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 32.5 | 3.8 | 8.1 | 2.49 | 6.55 | 2.63 |
1974 Cardinals | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.3 | 13.5 | 1.24 | 4.84 | 3.90 |
1975 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.1 | 7.0 | 0.97 | 4.95 | 5.12 |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
17 Years | 13 | 10 | .565 | 14 | 55 | n/a | 55.3 | 3.2 | 9.2 | 2.33 | 7.22 | 3.10 |
Bob GibsonBob Gibson Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1959 St. Louis Cardinals | 58 | $3,300.00 | - | - |
1960 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $3,500.00 | - | - |
1961 St. Louis Cardinals | 45 | $5,500.00 | - | - |
1962 St. Louis Cardinals | 45 | $15,000.00 | Stats | - |
1963 St. Louis Cardinals | 45 | $25,000.00 | - | - |
1964 St. Louis Cardinals | 45 | $30,000.00 | - | Stats |
1965 St. Louis Cardinals | 45 | $40,000.00 | Stats | - |
1966 St. Louis Cardinals | 45 | $50,000.00 | Stats | - |
1967 St. Louis Cardinals | 45 | $60,000.00 | Stats | Stats |
1968 St. Louis Cardinals | 45 | $85,000.00 | Stats | Stats |
1969 St. Louis Cardinals | 45 | $125,000.00 | Stats | - |
1970 St. Louis Cardinals | 45 | $125,000.00 | Stats | - |
1971 St. Louis Cardinals | 45 | $150,000.00 | - | - |
1972 St. Louis Cardinals | 45 | $150,000.00 | Stats | - |
1973 St. Louis Cardinals | 45 | $160,000.00 | - | - |
1974 St. Louis Cardinals | 45 | $160,000.00 | - | - |
1975 St. Louis Cardinals | 45 | $175,000.00 | - | - |
Bob Gibson Stats by Baseball Almanac |
Robert Gibson was a Major League Baseball player who pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959-1975). Bob, his nickname, won the 1968 and 1970 National League Cy Young Award — the first St. Louis Cardinals pitcher to win a Cy Young, as well as the first Red Bird to win it twice.
Bob Gibson Rookie Card | 1959 Topps Baseball Card (#514 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library
Bob Gibson had a 1.12 earned run average (ERA) in 1968, the lowest ERA by a Cy Young Award winning starting pitcher. The next closest starting pitcher from the National League was Dwight Gooden, who had a 1.53 ERA in 1985. The next closest starting pitcher from the American League was Ron Guidry, who had a 1.74 ERA in 1978. Even if we compare Gibson's ERA to closers who have won, it is still the second lowest ever recorded by a Cy Young Award winner, behind Rollie Fingers, who had a 1.04 ERA in 1981.
When Bob Gibson took the field on April 15, 1959, he became the first St. Louis Cardinals player to wear #58. When he hung up his cleats on September 3, 1975, he became the last St. Louis Cardinals player to use #45 — the team retired it that same year! Let's take a look at some additional numbers of interest as they relate to one of the most dominant strikeout pitchers in baseball history:
3: Bob Gibson threw exactly three strikes to Len Gabrielson (out #1), exactly three pitches to Paul Popovich (out #2), then exactly three pitches to John Miller (out #3), during the seventh inning of a game played on May 12, 1969, the first known Immaculate Inning (9 Pitches - 9 Strikes - 3 Outs) in Cardinals history.
5: Bob Gibson won twenty-or-more games five times (1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970) in St. Louis, the most 20-win seasons by a Cardinals pitcher in team history. Second most was Dizzy Dean, who had four (1933-1936), followed by six Cards who each had three (Jumbo McGinnis, Bob Caruthers, Dave Foutz, Silver King, Jesse Haines and Mort Cooper).
9: Bob Gibson was clearly a dominating force on the mound. Often forgotten is how incredibly smooth he was off the mound, capturing nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards (1965-1973), the most in the National League until Greg Maddux won his tenth straight in 1999, a streak he continued through 2002, 13 consecutive Gold Gloves, and finishing his hall of fame career with eighteen total.
17: Bob Gibson struck out twelve hitters fourteen times, thirteen hitters ten times, fourteen hitters three times, fifteen hitters twice, sixteen hitters once, and on October 2, 1968, during Game 1 of the 1968 World Series, he struck out a career high seventeen batters, the most hitters ever during a World Series game. [World Series Single Game Pitching Records]
3,000: Bob Gibson was the second pitcher in baseball history to join the 3,000 Strikeouts Club, joining hall of famer Walter Johnson. Bob Gibson was the first National League pitcher to strikeout 3,000 batters and entered the "club" on July 17, 1974, at Busch Stadium, thanks in part to Cesar Geronimo.
3,117: Bob Gibson finished his career with 3,117 strikeouts, second most in baseball history at the time of his retirement, behind Walter Johnson (3,508 strikeouts). [Top 1,000 Career Strikeouts]
Bob Gibson | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1981 (HOF)
The National Baseball Hall of Fame wrote, "Bob Gibson may well have been the most intimidating pitcher in history." Inducted in 1981, the Bob Gibson Biography (link) goes on to say, "1968 has come to be known as 'The Year of the Pitcher,' and Bob Gibson was certainly the pitcher of the year" and gives partial credit to the mound being lowered to Gibson, "in the ultimate compliment, baseball actually lowered the mound the following season, because pitchers, led by Gibson, were dominating hitters and games were historically low-scoring."