Cardinals history: Legendary pitcher Bob Gibson picks up landmark win

Bob Gibson is the best pitcher in St. Louis Cardinals' franchise history. The Hall of Famer won two Cy Young Awards, nine Gold Gloves, and an MVP. He was a nine-time All Star who won two World Series championships and had a 1.12 ERA in 1968, one of the single best seasons in MLB history. Since 1930, Bob Gibson has the best ERA by a starting pitcher with at least 200 innings in a single season.

Bob Gibson's career is littered with historic stats. His career 2.91 ERA is exceptional, and he and Adam Wainwright are the only two Cardinal pitchers with 200 or more wins to their names.

On June 27th, 1975, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson notched his 250th victory.

Bob Gibson's 1975 season was his swan song, and he wasn't having one of his typical seasons. He would finish the year with a 3-10 record and a 5.04 ERA across just 109 innings. He had announced prior to the season that 1975 would be his last season. He would later admit that he continued to play baseball in order to cope with his recent divorce. Eventually, Gibson would be moved to the bullpen in 1975 due to ineffectiveness.

Gibson took the mound on June 27th, 1975 against the Montreal Expos. He cruised with relative ease through his six-inning outing, allowing four hits and walking five. He did, however, keep those runners on the bases and not scoring.

Gibby came out in the seventh inning to pitch, but after allowing a single to Pepe Mangual and then walking Tim Foli, he was pulled from the game. Both runners would come around to score, giving Gibson a final line of 2 earned runs, five hits, six walks, and a strikeout across six innings. This was enough for him to be awarded the win, as the Cardinals would go on to win the game 6-4.

This victory was Gibson's 250th career win, and it came nearly two months after his pevious victory on May 5, 1975. He is one of just 46 players in all of Major League Baseball to have eclipsed 250 wins.

After the game, Gibson made the victory little more than just another win. “Number 250 doesn’t mean any more than 249,” Gibson said to the Associated Press. “It feels good to be able to win a game and help the ball club. I want to be part of a winning ball club. I haven’t lost that.”

Gibson's final season wasn't as successful as either he or the Cardinals would have wanted. He would win one more game in 1975 as a reliever, but that would be his final victory. He pitched in six more games in 1975, all in relief. He did, however, record two saves in that time, including a 3.2 inning save against the Chicago Cubs on August 1.

Bob Gibson is the greatest pitcher in Cardinals history and one of the best pitchers in MLB history. Him reaching the 250-win milestone in 1975 was just another feather in his otherwise expansive cap. The Hall of Famer gave Cardinals fans of the 1960s and 1970s plenty to cheer for.

Gibson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer later in his life, and he died at the age of 84 on October 2, 2020. This came just a month after his longtime teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Lou Brock passed.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow