ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals organization released a statement on Saturday mourning the loss of Cardinals Hall of Famer Bob Gibson.
Gibson passed away on Friday at the age of 84 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
“Bob Gibson was arguably one of the best athletes and among the fiercest competitors to ever play the game of baseball,” said Cardinals’ principal owner and CEO William DeWitt, Jr. “With yesterday being the anniversary of his record-setting 17 strikeout World Series game in 1968, it brought back many fond memories of Bob, and his ability to pitch at such a high level when the Cardinals were playing on the games’ biggest stages. Even during the time of his recent illness, Bob remained a strong supporter of the team and remained in contact with members of the organization and several of our players. He will be sorely missed.”
Gibson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981 and ranks first all-time among Cardinals pitchers in wins, games started, complete games, shutouts, innings pitched and strikeouts.
The Cards legend was also the National League MVP in 1968, a nine-time All-Star and won the N.L. Cy Young Award for pitching excellence in 1968 and 1970.
He was a member of three Cardinals World Series teams (1964, 1967 and 1968), winning the title in both 1964 and 1967.
“Bob Gibson quite literally changed the game of baseball. He was a fierce competitor and beloved by Cardinal Nation. We will miss him dearly. Rest in peace, Gibby,” the team said on Twitter.