Gibson had been ill for quite awhile. He had been battling pancreatic cancer in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner spent his entire 17-year career with St. Louis and was named the World Series MVP in that team’s 1964 and ’67 championship seasons. In ’68, Gibson was voted the National League’s MVP and shut down opponents so well that baseball changed the rules for fear fans would become bored. Officials lowered the mound from 15 to 10 inches in 1969 and shrank the strike zone.
During the regular season, Gibson struck out more than 200 batters nine times and led the National League in shutouts four times, finishing with 56 in his career. He was, somehow, even greater in the postseason, finishing with 92 strikeouts in 81 innings.
