ST. LOUIS — By almost any account, Stan Musial is considered the greatest St. Louis Cardinals player of all time. By the same accounts, Bob Gibson, who died Friday night in Omaha, Neb., at age 84 under hospice care after fighting pancreatic cancer for more than a year, was considered the franchise’s greatest pitcher.
Gibson was the Cardinals' second National Baseball Hall of Famer to die in the last month. His longtime teammate, Lou Brock, died Sept. 6 at 81. Gibson’s death came on the 52nd anniversary of perhaps his greatest game, a record 17-strikeout performance in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series.