How Bob Gibson pitched on a broken leg
Bob Gibson will sign his book “Sixty Feet, Six Inches” on Tuesday at Barnes & Noble in West County. Read an interview I did with Gibson, and Steve Weinberg’s review of the book, in this Sunday’s A&E section of the Post-Dispatch.
One of the legendary stories about Gibson is that he pitched with a broken leg. Because I didn’t have room Sunday to quote Gibson’s telling of what happened, I’ve put his account from the book here. ”Sixty Feet” goes on sale Tuesday (Sept. 22):
“There are still guys who play hurt and crash into fences and dive on their faces, but it’s going out of style. With the agents and big investments and guaranteed contracts and medical staffs they have today, players are generally less inclined to put their bodies on the line.
“And that’s not all bad. It’s less likely that you’ll have somebody pitching on a broken leg, which is what i did until it popped in half. It was when Roberto Clemente hit me right above the ankle with a line drive. Of course, I didn’t know it was broken at first. Our trainer, Bob Bauman, sprayed it with ethyl chloride and I told him he was spraying the wrong spot because that wasn’t where it hurt. He told me to take a look, and there was a dent in my skin the shape of a baseball. Then he put a little tape on it and I threw a couple soft pitches and thought, all right, it’s okay, let’s go. I walked Willie Stargell, got Bill Mazeroski to pop up, and on a three-two pitch to Donn Clendenon I was trying to open up on a fastball and, pow, the fibula bone snapped in two. Today, I wouldn’t have been out there after the line drive hit me. I’d have been taken somewhere for an X-ray. You don’t even have to limp around; they just take you.
“Anyway, for a few years afterwards, every young pitcher who came to the Cardinals heard that story. We didn’t have many guys missing games with stiff necks or blisters on their feet.”
That’s why he is one of the best pitchers in history.
I seem to remember something from that episode about Gibson getting so tired of answering press inquiries about it that he had a sign made up with answers to all the stupid questions, then hung the sign around his neck. Anybody else remember that?
The summer Gibson broke his leg I was a high schooler with a summer job doing grunt work at Missouri Metal Shaping Co. on Page and 270…..There was an upscale furniture store on the opposite side of Page from Mo. Metal where I would wait for my ride home after work, sitting on a knoll off the parking area of the furniture store. Gibson pulls up with his wife and parks his car right in front of me as I was sitting in the grass waiting for my ride……he was on crutches and it took a bit more time for him to get out of the car and get situated as I’m there, not believing I am face to face with Bob Gibson. I started stuttering like I had just swallowed a bag of marbles. They looked at me like I was crazy and went in the store.
I remember that game because it was on a Saturday night in 1968 and the game was on Channel 5.My dad use to took the black and white TV on the front porch and we watch the ballgame there.He had a steady supply of cold
Falstaff around.He didn’t drank AB products,because he claimed as a vendor at Sportsman Park in the 1950’s he got in a heated augument with Cardinals owner,Gussie Busch and got fired from his job.Tall tale….maybe!
I saw him pitch in his hey-day and he was (and remains) one class act! I do not remember that story, but it would be par for the course for the time! (Remember the GOOD OLD DAYS?)
I was there that evening in 68. It was around dusk, or at least that’s how I remember it…I was only 11 at the time. I do remember seeing, and hearing the ball hit his leg and him going down. What a night.