Bob Gibson was a right-hander in the major leagues from 1959 to 1975.

He played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals. Gibson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.

Gibson's childhood was filled with health problems but overcame them and was active in sports as a youth. He was mainly interested in basketball and baseball.

Gibson attended Creighton University on a basketball scholarship.

Before he signed on with the Cardinals in 1957, Gibson began playing with the "Harlem Globetrotters". He was nicknamed "Bullet" Bob Gibson. His baseball nickname was "Hoot", in honor of  Hoot Gibson, the cowboy and silent movie star.

Bob was promoted from triple-A farm club Omaha to the big leagues in 1959. In 1962, he recorded the first of  his nine 200-strikeout seasons.

He won 9 Gold Glove Awards for defense, and was World Series MVP in both 1964 and 1967. Gibson also won Cy Young Awards in 1968 and 1970.

In the1967 World Series, Gibson allowed only three earned runs over 3 complete games ( 1, 4, & 7). He helped his own cause by hitting a key home run in Game 7. 

His ERA of 1.12 in 1968 is a modern day record. Gibson also won the National League MVP. He pitched his only career no-hitter in a 11-0 victory at the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1971.

He was the first pitcher in the National League to strike out over 3,000 batters. He accomplished this in St. Louis on July 17, 1974 by striking out the Cincinnati Reds' César Gerónimo (who interestingly enough was also Nolan Ryan's 3000th strikeout victim).

Gibson was one of  the best pitchers who could swing a bat.                       

He was also known for pitching inside to batters.

His number 45 jersey retired by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Gibson is ranked 31st on the1999 " Sporting News' list of the "100 Greatest Baseball Players", and was also elected to the "MLB All-Century Team".

The St. Louis Walk of Fame honored Bob Gibson with his own "star"