(LOT 78)
1959 Topps #514 Bob Gibson Rookie PSA 9 MINT
GIBSON ROOKIE!!! Robert Gibson will forever be remembered for his unrelenting competitiveness, which many thought was meanness or anger. Gibby, on the other hand, felt "intensity come much closer to summarizing my pitching style… baseball is a mental discipline as much as a physical one. … The part of pitching that separates the stars from everyone else is about 90 percent mental. That's why I considered it so important to mess with a batter's head without letting him inside mine." That intensity earned him the praise of being arguably the most competitive pitcher in the National League. This distinction was never clearer than in 1967, when Bob aced the National League pennant-leading St. Louis Cardinals on July 15 when Pittsburgh's Roberto Clemente lined a pitch off Gibson's right shin, breaking the bone, but he remained in the game to face three more batters before the bone snapped above his ankle. Ironically, his competitive nature earned him an undue reputation for hitting batters encroaching on his strike zone, but Gibson, in fact, only hit 102 batters for his entire career. It's a different game today to be sure.

In 1968, the "Year of the Pitcher", Bob Gibson outclassed Denny McLain's 31 victories and Don Drysdale's 58-2/3 scoreless innings streak to post a 22-9 record, with league-leading 268 strikeouts, 13 shutouts and a 1.12 ERA, the lowest earned-run average since the Deadball Era. Over his 17 seasons in the big leagues, all with St. Louis, Gibby went 251-174 with 3,117 strikeouts (second only to Walter Johnson at the time of his retirement) and a fantastic .2.91 career ERA. Gibson pitched 255 complete games and 56 shutouts, won two Cy Young awards and the NL MVP in 1968, won nine Gold Gloves and pitched in nine All-Star Games. I say again, it's a different game.

The presented 1959 Topps #514 Bob Gibson rookie card has been graded 9 MINT by PSA. This most significant card from the 1959 Topps release reflects a gleaming pink frame around the young hurler's portrait image with the Cardinals logo of "Birds on the Bat" in yellow at the bottom left corner. With virtually spot-on centering, this example presents extremely sharp and exact edges and corners amidst snow-white borders. Add to that the flawless surfaces, and we can only ponder as to why this wasn't assessed higher.

MIN BID $10,000
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