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Joseph Charles Gibbon
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher
Born: April 10, 1935, Hickory, MS
Signed: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1957 season
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1960-1965; San Francisco Giants 1966-1969; Pittsburgh Pirates 1969-1970; Cincinnati Reds 1971-1972; Houston Astros 1972
Died: February 20, 2019, Newton, MS (age 83)
Joe Gibbon spent parts of 13 seasons in the majors, finding success as a starting pitcher for the Pirates in the early 1960s before converting to a full-time reliever. He won a spot on the Pirates opening day roster in 1960, riding the success he had achieved the season before as the team's top pitching prospect. With the Columbus Jets in 1959, Gibbon went 16-9 with a 2.60 ERA and a league leading 152 strikeouts. He was a member of the the World Champion Pirates in 1960 and his best season came in 1961 when he went 13-10 with a 3.32 ERA over 29 starts. Later as a reliever, Gibbon twice saved 11 games in a season - with the Giants and Pirates in 1969 and again with the Reds in 1971.
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| Updated list at the end of 2020 |
Building the Set
December 25, 2020 from Marco Island, FL - Card #194
This is one of 32 cards (mostly commons) I received from Jenna and our sons on Christmas morning, as I was asked to do some surrogate shopping on their behalf and I gladly obliged. Hunting specifically for first series cards, this is one of 11 cards I added from eBay seller njlionsfan from Clinton, New Jersey. This Gibbon card was $2.50.
The Card / Pirates Team Set
Gibbon was already a veteran by the time this card was issued, having pitched in five seasons with the Pirates and appearing within Topps sets since his 1960 debut season. I'm not familiar with the "back on the beam" saying in the cartoon on the back of the card to go along with Gibbon leading the International League in strikeouts in 1959. Any thoughts?
His 1960 World Series appearances weren't that memorable, as both came during blow-out losses to the Yankees. In Game 2, Gibbon allowed a three-run home run to Mickey Mantle (#350) in the seventh in an eventual 16-3 Yankees win. In Game 3, he pitched a scoreless 8th inning in a 10-0 loss to the Yankees. Given Bill Mazeroski's (#95) walk-off, Series winning home run in Game 7, it's easy to forget those blow-out losses.
1965 Season
Gibbon had one of the roughest seasons of his career, going 4-9 with a 4.51 ERA over 31 games, including 15 starts. He started the season in the Pirates' starting pitching rotation but finished the year as a seldom-used middle reliever. On December 1st, Gibbon was traded with Ozzie Virgil (#571) to the Giants for Matty Alou (#318).
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #512
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1960-1970, 1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #219
41 - Gibbon non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/4/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Previous Card: #53 Dick McAuliffe - Detroit Tigers
1965 Season
Gibbon had one of the roughest seasons of his career, going 4-9 with a 4.51 ERA over 31 games, including 15 starts. He started the season in the Pirates' starting pitching rotation but finished the year as a seldom-used middle reliever. On December 1st, Gibbon was traded with Ozzie Virgil (#571) to the Giants for Matty Alou (#318).
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First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #512
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1960-1970, 1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #219
41 - Gibbon non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/4/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Previous Card: #53 Dick McAuliffe - Detroit Tigers
Next Card: #55 Tony Conigliaro - Boston Red Sox
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