Gibson

I remember Bob Gibson as being the most dominate pitcher I had ever watched. He threw so hard, he had the most amazingly violent follow-through that had his arms and legs flying off the side of the mound. If you made him angry, he'd brush you back or hit you with his fastball. A great athlete, former Harlem Globetrotter, a great hitter for a pitcher. He pitched and beat my Red Sox easily three of the games he pitched in the 1967 World Series. The opening game of the 1968 World Series pitted him (the NL strikeout and ERA leader) against 31 game winner Denny McLain and I remember getting out of school and sprinting home to watch the epic pitching match-up. By the time I got home, McLain was already out of the game! Of course, Gibson goes on to set the WS strikeout record striking out the 17th Tiger dramatically in the top of the ninth inning. My best friend, John Gerald and I would practice our best Gibson wind-ups and pitches, never quite with the same accuracy (or speed).