Stranger to the Game: The Autobiography of Bob Gibson [Paperback]

Bob Gibson (Author), Lonnie Wheeler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1996

Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson has always been one of baseball's most uncompromising stars. Gibson's no-holds-barred autobiography recounts the story of his life, from barnstorming around the segregated South with Willie Mays' black all stars to his astonishing later career as a three-time World Series winner and one of the game's all-time greatest players.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gibson describes himself as "a glowering black man who wouldn't make small talk." Playing his entire major-league career (1959-1975) with the St. Louis Cardinals, he built a reputation as the most competitive pitcher in the game. With Wheeler, who coauthored I Had a Hammer with Hank Aaron, Gibson tells the story of his youth in Omaha, Neb., his brilliance as a basketball player (he was good enough to play with the Harlem Globetrotters), his astounding record ERA of 1.12 in 1968 and his exceptional performances in three World Series. Always known for expressing himself directly, he tells of his battle against prejudice and bigotry in his home town, in the 1950s Jim Crow South and in his fruitless quest for a front office job after he hung up his spikes. Gibson pitches a memoir that is hard and inside. Photos not seen by PW. 75,000 first printing; $75,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Legendary pitcher Gibson uses his career as the pivotal point for assessing how baseball has changed from the Sixties, when he was playing.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140175288
• ISBN-13: 978-0140175288
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,188,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating study of life as a competitor., May 18, 2003

By 

DBW (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stranger to the Game: The Autobiography of Bob Gibson (Hardcover)

"Stranger to the Game" can be enjoyed on at least two different levels. On one level, fans get all the details they need about Gibson and his journey with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1959-1975: the early struggles with racist manager Solly Hemus; Gibson's relationship with catcher Tim McCarver; lessons learned by the Cards in their strong run at the pennant in 1963, and the fruits of those lessons in '64; the frustrating seasons of 1965 and '66; the powerhouse Cards of '67 and '68, punctuated by what might have been the greatest pitching performance of all time in 1968, by the author; and the gradual decline of both Gibson's skills and the Cards. The early years of Gibson's life in Omaha, Neb. are interesting, too -- the influence of his older brother; the things he learned from playing basketball, etc.

But the book also offers some fascinating insights on what it means to be as fierce a competitor as Gibson was. On the field, especially when combined with great talent and intellect, it's a very powerful positive. But in so many other areas -- dealing with the press, trying to get and maintain other jobs in baseball after retirement, coping with the foolish things people do in everyday life, and perhaps even marriage -- it has been a detriment to Gibson. Several times in the book, he is appalled that people see him as "the meanest man to play baseball" (in the words of one fan who approached him in public). It doesn't make sense to him that people would fail to see that his angry demeanor on the mound, and when dealing with most opposing players off it, were designed for a very specific effect, one that made absolute sense in the context of his profession. Even within the limits of the diamond, people sometimes forget that while Gibson hit 90 batters with pitches, Don Drysdale hit 154, and Jim Bunning hit 160.

The racial element of course serves to underscore this misunderstanding, in Gibson's view. Those determined to see a black man as threatening are that much more likely to be unable to separate job-specific toughness with a person's normal everyday persona. This, as much or more than anything else, has kept Gibson on the periphery of baseball since his retirement.

Throughout sports, one of the key issues confronting any athlete is how, and when, to turn off the mindset he or she must cultivate for the playing field. In some ways, a competitve approach to life in general is certainly desirable, as so many of our daily struggles are battles, to one degree or another. Gibson portrays himself as being able to flip this switch on or off, depending on the situation. Others disagree.

Several years after "Stranger to the Game" was published, Gibson, at 66, had a physical altercation with a motorist (can there be any doubt who won?) who cut him off in traffic. The incident suggests that Gibson's competitive fires, perhaps combined with the machismo so intertwined with competition for most male athletes, still rage as intensely as ever.

What haunted me about "Stranger to the Game" is that I think there should be more room, both in baseball and outside of it, for someone who takes Gibson's approach to things.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Oh damn, it's Gibson!", May 6, 1999

By 

"rrr338" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stranger to the Game: The Autobiography of Bob Gibson (Paperback)

Yep, that's what I said as a Cubs fan in my youth. Whenever St. Louis was in town and I checked to see who the starting pitcher for the Cardinals would be. Man, did this guy ever break my heart... again and again!

Now, in retrospect, I can appreciate his greatness. (Though the painful memories of how he often made my Cubbies look like Little League hitters still lingers a bit). The greatness I admire most today, however, lies not in his pitching talent (superb as it was). Rather, I see his real legacy as one who refused to buckle under to the forces of racism; one who again and again challenged the flawed thinking of both overt racists and even unintentional racists. This book reveals a lot about baseball, but so much more about Gibson the man. He is in the same mold as other great athletes, like Clemente and Ali, who transcended their sport, and made a mark on society as well.

But some things are STILL unforgivable -- Why did he have to be so brutal on my Cubbies?!!

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating look at baseball from a true legend., September 2, 2004

By 

M J Heilbron Jr. "Dr. Mo" (Long Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stranger to the Game: The Autobiography of Bob Gibson (Paperback)

During elementary school, 1972-1976, baseball was myth to me. The players were larger than life. Baseball cards were treasured. The World Series was something I looked forward to every year. I loved my Dodgers. I read Baseball Digest.
I studied those baseball cards and Digests, and I got the impression that this Bob Gibson guy was pretty good.
A few years later, I noted he was in the Hall of Fame.
Years passed, I did the whole medical school thing, yadda yadda yadda and baseball got away from me. The strike didn't help.
Then, whether it was the McGwire/Sosa chase, or I was just ready to come back, my interest in baseball expanded. Now I was reading every book I could on the subject.
A grateful patient gave me an autographed baseball. I've never owned an autographed baseball, but I must admit, holding it felt like I was holding something with a strange energy. It was charmed. Almost magical.
It was signed by "Bob Gibson". (He gave me another signed by Lou Brock too...)
I went back and found my old baseball cards, and then sought out older Gibson cards.
Then I found this book.
This is a highly opinionated, often bitter, tell-it-like-it-is autobiography from a pitcher so good, they changed the game. They actually physically changed baseball because Bob Gibson was too good.
I simplify, but only a bit.
I smiled reading the account of his childhood, in Omaha, Nebraska.
That's where I went to medical school...at Creighton, which is where Mr. Gibson went.
He was a player who only wanted to win. To compete. To dominate.
AND he played for The Harlem Globetrotters. Seriously. Right before he joined up with the Cardinals.
He spent his entire career with the Cardinals. I wish people stayed with their teams more nowadays. You'll read about his fight against racism and bigotry; he followed bravely in Jackie Robinson's footsteps. They're cut from similar cloth.
He became the most feared pitcher in baseball.
Not because he was unafraid to use the brushback, which he did and did well. It was because batters often felt beat as they stepped into the batter's box. He would routinely strike out the side on ten or eleven pitches. He pitched complete games, even when they went into extra innings. He won twenty games a year, regularly.
Then came 1968. He was, as it is said, the Pitcher of The Year in the Year of the Pitcher. Only five players hit over .300 that year. Gibson's league-leading ERA was 1.12. That's almost not fair.
He mentions how proud he was of the fact that he could hit; he's the last pitcher to win 20 games and hit over .300 as well. One year, he hit more home runs than any other Cardinal but two. Yes, a sad comment on the lack of power amongst the rest of the team, but still.
He is sometimes profane, controversial, thorny, uncompromising but somehow still admirable.
I think his prickly personality may have overshadowed his amazing career. He defends himself (as if he needs defending) but remains unapologetic.
I couldn't stop reading this book.
He is an essential character in the story of baseball. He is the link from old style, confrontational, rough and tumble baseball of the 40's and 50's and the power pitchers of today. I'm talking specifically Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and perhaps Eric Gagne.
He was overpowering. His legend deserves better.
Read this book.