PHOTOS: St. Louis street renamed 'Bob Gibson Way' to honor HOF pitcher

Photo credit (Sam Masterson, KMOX)

By NewsRadio 1120 KMOX

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The St. Louis Cardinals, in cooperation with Park Central Development, dedicated the honorary ‘Bob Gibson Way’ today during a ceremony in St. Louis’ Grove Neighborhood. Gibson Avenue, from the 4200 block on the east end to Kingshighway on the west end, has been renamed “Honorary Bob Gibson Way” for the St. Louis Cardinals and National Baseball Famer.

Neighborhood resident Phil Heagney led the effort by starting a petition urging the St. Louis Board of Alderman to rededicate Gibson Avenue in honor of Gibson’s contributions to baseball and the city of St. Louis. The street was already named, “Gibson” after another person with no connection to the legendary pitcher.

Petitioners collected the required signatures of more than 75% of the residents along Gibson Avenue to move the measure forward. Ward 17 Alderman Joseph Roddy introduced the measure at a Board of Aldermen meeting in November.

“We know this is a meaningful project for the residents of this ward,” said Alderman Joseph Roddy. “The overwhelming support for the measure tells you something about Gibson’s legacy and the city of St. Louis.”

The Board considered and passed the bill, and Mayor Lyda Krewson signed the ordinance at the end of 2018.

Fellow Hall of Famer, Ozzie Smith, and Mayor Lyda Krewson were on hand at today’s event to offer their remarks.

“We know that Bob Gibson’s remarkable contributions to the game and to this city make him an icon, worthy of being honored in this way, the ‘Honorable Bob Gibson Way,’ here in the city’s Grove neighborhood,” said Krewson.

To commemorate the event, a representative from Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay’s office presented a congressional proclamation at the ceremony. In addition, students from LIFE Arts Inc. performed “Complete Gamer,” the song they penned in 2018 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Gibson’s 1968 1.12 ERA season.

“There will never be another pitcher like Bob Gibson,” said Bill DeWitt III, St. Louis Cardinals President. “This honorary street naming symbolizes what he means to our franchise and to our city.”

Renowned for his fierce competitive nature and intimidating presence on the mound, Gibson pitched more complete games (255) in his 17-year career with the Cardinals than he had wins (251). He also hit 24 career home runs and collected nine Gold Glove awards.

About Bob Gibson

Gibson is the Cardinals all-time leader in innings pitched (3885.1), wins (251), strikeouts (3117), complete games (255) and shutouts (56). During his 17-year career with the club, Gibson won two N.L. Cy Young Awards (1968, 1970), the N.L. MVP Award (1968), nine Gold Glove Awards, two World Series MVP Awards (1964, 1967), hit 24 home runs and was named an All-Star nine times. His 1.12 ERA in 1968 remains the lowest for a single-season in Major League history. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.

Photo credit (Sam Masterson, KMOX)