Legendary pitcher Bob Gibson has died at the age of 84.
The former St. Louis Cardinals player and Hall of Famer died on Friday, the MLB confirmed on Twitter. Gibson announced last year that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Gibson, born in Nebraska in 1935 as the youngest of seven, first joined the Cardinals in 1959 after initially playing basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters and then deciding on a sport change. He remained with the St. Louis team until his retirement in 1975.
The athlete overcame several health struggles in his childhood before embarking on his career in sports, including asthma, rickets and a heart murmur, according to the MLB. Later, he attended Omaha’s Creighton University and became the school’s first Black baseball player and basketball player.
During his time with the Cardinals, the nine-time All-Star set multiple records, retiring as the team’s all-time leader in wins, strikeouts, games started and completed games. He still holds the record for most strikeouts in a World Series game with 17. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1981.
Gibson was feared for his fastballs, as well as his intense demeanor. “Bob wasn’t just unfriendly when he pitched,” former teammate Joe Torre once told The New York Times. “I’d say it was more like hateful.”
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SOURCE: PEOPLE, Ally Mauch
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