Joe Gibbon
1935 - 2019
Normally, a guy whose Major League career can best be described as "mediocre to fair" would not rate an Absent Friends citation by The Grandstander, but when that guy was a member of the iconic 1960 World Series Champion Pittsburgh Pirates (iconic to Pittsburghers that is), then his passing demands to be noted in this space. So today we bid a melancholy happy trails to Joe Gibbon.
Gibbon, a lefty out of Hickory, Mississippi, was a 25 year old rookie for that 1960 squad. In 27 games, nine of them starts, Gibbon went 4-2 with a 4.02 ERA, and pitched in two games in that memorable '60 Series. He also pitched in two games for the Bucs in the 1970 NL Championship Series, and if you had made a bet with me on that, I would have lost money. I had no memory of Gibbon coming back with the team late in his career.
He also served the Pirates well when he was traded to the Giants prior to the 1966 season. The player the Pirates received in exchange? Matty Alou.
Gibbon pitched for 13 seasons in the majors, eight of them with the Pirates, and also included stints with the Giants, Reds, and Astros. His career numbers are 61-65 with a 3.53 ERA (44-46, 3.61 with the Pirates).
Yep, a mediocre career, but he was a member of perhaps the most special team in the history of Pittsburgh professional sports. His death, by the way, leaves only fourteen players from the 1960 team that are still alive.
RIP Joe Gibbon.
Only 12 from 1960 still with us.
ReplyDeleteThe source that I looked up included Roman Mejies and Bennie Daniels. They may have spent some time on the roster in ‘60, but yes I agree that they are not true “members” of that team, so the number 12 is probably more accurate.
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