Saturday, October 3, 2020

Gibby

Another bit of terrible news. 2020 just keeps getting worse.


I don't care how bad this card is. I'll never upgrade it. It's been mine since 1959. I love everything about it. Gibby's smile...he's happy to be a ballplayer... the pink frame...I love pink cards...and the fact that I've owned it for over 60 years.

My oft re-posted Gibson story:

I was fortunate enough to see Gibson pitch and believe me, he was a real badass on the mound. My favorite memory comes, ironically, from 1975, his last season and the final time I saw him perform. I attended this game in mid-August with a friend of mine who happens to be a lifelong Cardinal fan. As Gibby's career came to an end he struggled through a year that saw him saddled with a 3-10 record and an ERA over five. But on this day Gibson came into the game after the Cards had taken a one run lead in the top of the eleventh. I distinctly recall watching from seats behind the Cardinal dugout as he stalked out to the mound with that look that few pitchers had. My friend and I both saw it and said to one another 'Game over." And it was. Gibby blew away three Astros (looking!!) to wrap up the game. Awesome.

Rest In Peace. One of the greatest ever and the best right-handed pitcher I've ever had the privilege to watch.


 






9 comments:

  1. The bad news just never stops coming.

    My favorite Gibson card is the 1964 Topps "Giants" card, which is also my only card of his from the 1960's.

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    1. Topps Giants is a fun set all the way around. Great way to collect superstars at bargain prices.

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  2. Bob Gibson is one of those players I've heard so much about and really wished I could have seen him in person, or at least on TV. The fact that you've held on to his RC this long is amazing. I've got two favorite Gibson cards - a high-grade 1968 Topps and a 2000 Fleer Greats auto.

    Along with the general awfulness of 2020 it seems like an unusually high number of Hall of Famers have passed away: Gibby, Lou Brock, Tom Seaver, Al Kaline, Gale Sayers, Kobe Bryant, Dale Hawerchuk, Henri Richard.. I'm probably forgetting a few.

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  3. You mention you've had the Gibson rookie card since 1959... did you actually pull it? Or trade for it like we used to do as kids? It's a beautiful card. And seeing his name in the news this morning set the tone for the rest of the day.

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    1. I don't remember. Likely pulled. My uncle had a pharmacy and he would give me packs when we visited. The first packs I ever opened came on Easter that year.

      That card had been 'lost' for a long time. I found it in a kids book my mother had saved. Then I stuck it in my Beckett Guide #1 and forgot about it for years.

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    2. Sure glad your mom didn't donate that book. Gotta love surprises like that though.

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  4. Gibson's one of the many HoFers and stars from the 1960s who I have no cards of. Not the right time to fix that but I've been meaning to fix that for a while.

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