This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/19/2016
Explaining to Dusty Baker what it was like to face Bob Gibson, Hall of Famer Hank Aaron said, "Don’t dig in against Bob Gibson, he’ll knock you down. He’d knock down his own grandmother if she dared to challenge him. Don’t stare at him, don’t smile at him, don’t talk to him. He doesn’t like it. If you happen to hit a home run, don’t run too slow, don’t run too fast. If you happen to want to celebrate, get in the tunnel first. And if he hits you, don’t charge the mound, because he’s a Gold Glove boxer." Many great ballplayers have changed the perception of baseball over the years, but Hall of Famer Bob Gibson was so masterful and intimidating in 1968 that he actually forced the league into changing the rules! It was a season where pitchers dominated so completely that run scoring was the lowest it had ever been in the modern era, but Bob Gibson was so far above and beyond any hurler that his 1.12 ERA still stands as the greatest mark in modern history. Gibson hurled 13 shutouts that season and surrendered 4 earned runs in a game only twice, one being an 11-inning performance. But Gibson's most incredible accomplishment that season is that over his final 32 starts, a total of 291 innings including five extra-inning games, Gibson pitched all but 1/3 of an inning! Major League Baseball's response to Gibson's mastery was to lower the mound from 15 inches to 10 inches and reduce the size of the strike zone. Gibson made his rookie appearance in the 1959 Topps set, and unlike the rookie cards of Aaron, Mantle and Clemente, Hall of Famers that have been setting record prices with each new offering, Gibson's debut card doesn't share the spotlight with any other significant Cooperstown immortals within the set. The featured prize is graded PSA 9 MINT and really shows many characteristics in line with GEM MINT specifications. First off, the centering is within a percentage point or two of hitting the 50/50 mark, both side to side as well as top to bottom, while each of the four corners presses for GEM MINT status. The hot pink coloring surrounding the image of Gibson is clean and consistent, as is the image of Gibson in the center, while the reverse is free of any liabilities. A card that is virtually without fault!