On August 14, 1968, Bob Gibson recorded his 17th
win, and 20th complete game of the season, by beating the Cubs 3-1
at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The victory put an end to a string of seven
straight victories over the Cardinals for the Cubs who had enjoyed crowds of
more than 30,000 in each game of the three-game series. It was Gibson’s 14th
straight victory. He had not been beaten since the 28th of May.
Gibson went head-to-head with Joe Niekro that afternoon.
The Cubs hurler looked like he was going to get through three innings with no
score on the board, instead he watched his centerfielder Adolfo Phillips drop a
fly ball that came off of Roger Maris’ bat. The error was costly. Maris
scampered to second while Phillip recovered, and moments later he crossed the
plate when Orlando Cepeda came through with a double.
The Cards jumped ahead 2-0 in the fourth after Julian
Javier came up big with a one out triple, then scored on a single by Dal
Maxvill. That run would prove to be the game winner, as the Cubs scored in the
bottom of the inning on an RBI by Jim Hickman. Cepeda padded the lead by
knocking another run in during the seventh, and from there it was all Bob
Gibson.
A few runners would reach base for the Cubs the rest of
the way, however, they would not reach home plate. With that said, the fans in
Chicago may have been on the edge of their seats in the bottom of the ninth.
Ernie Banks opened the inning with a single. Gibson retired the next two men,
but he surrendered another single to Hickman, which put a man on at first and
third. Cubs Manager Leo Durocher called on Dick Nen to pinch hit for the
pitcher. He was the last hope for the Cubs, and that hope was lost when Gibson
struck him out looking.
Gibson’s ERA sat at 1.04 at the beginning of the day and
it remained at that mark after he surrendered the one run. The Cardinals
skipper Red Shoendienst joked that Gibson must have slipped since he gave up a
run. The legendary Ernie Banks who had managed to get a hit off Gibson said,
“That Gibson is really something. He doesn’t fiddle with his hat, or rub his
uniform, or nothing. He just takes the ball, dares you to step into the
batter’s box, and then hums it right by you.” Those who faced Gibson that
season would have to get used to that hum as he made his way to the legendary
mark of 1.12.
Check out the box score
here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN196808140.shtml
Sources
included: The Southeast Missourian, The
Pittsburgh Press, The St. Joseph Gazette, The St. Petersburg Times, The
Schenectady Gazette, The Victoria Advocate, and Baseballreference.com
The artwork accompanying the article was done
by G.T. Johnson. A print of this work can be purchased here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/BOB-GIBSON-ST-LOUIS-CARDINALS-ART-PRINT-/351969376367
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