Bob Gibson – A Celebration in Music

In 2018, Brian Owens and students taking part in the summer Compositions for Life program, were commissioned to create an original song celebrating Bob Gibson's historic 1968 season. Using Gibson's autobiography, "From Ghetto to Glory" as inspiration, the resulting song was "Complete Gamer." After meeting Gibson, five more songs were developed to celebrate Gibson's journey to become the competitor he was on the field but also the force for change off the field.

Learn about Bob Gibson's career with the Cardinals

Read Bob Gibson's biography to answer the following questions. If you don’t know what a term means as you read through the biography, look up its meaning in the glossary.

  1. Where was Bob Gibson born?
  2. What is Gibson's nickname?
  3. List three accomplishments of Gibson's during the 1967 World Series that led to him being named the Series' MVP (Most Valuable Player).
  4. How many Cy Young Awards did Gibson earn?
  5. How many career strikeouts did Gibson record?
  6. What two honors did Gibson receive in 1968?
  7. When was Gibson inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame?
  8. What sport and team did Gibson play before joining the Cardinals?
  9. How many Gold Gloves did Gibson win?
  10. Write a paragraph or draw a picture sharing a special moment from Bob Gibson's career.

Bob Gibson is a #CompleteGamer

In sports, a player who consistently puts forth maximum effort is referred to as a "gamer." Whether it came to pitching, hitting or fielding, Bob Gibson did it all-and did it extremely well!

Watch the "Complete Gamer" music video paying close attention to the lyrics and answer the following questions.

  1. "Complete Gamer" includes images of Bob Gibson during his playing career.
  2. Why do you think that these images were included in the video?
  3. How did the images help you form an image about Bob Gibson's career?
  4. The lyrics in the video include many of Bob Gibson’s accomplishments during the 1968 baseball season.
  5. List the statistics that you heard.
  6. How many of the statistics you listed were included in the biography of Bob Gibson that you read?
  7. One lyric in the song shared that "he's changed the game forever." How do you think Gibson changed the game of baseball?
  8. The closing scene in the video is of Bob Gibson saying, "I go out and give everything I've got." How do you think that attitude helped him to achieve success?

Bob Gibson From Ghetto to Glory

The song "Glory" was inspired by Bob Gibson's autobiography "From Ghetto to Glory" that shared his journey from a kid growing up in in the housing projects of Omaha, Nebraska to star of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Watch the "Glory" music video, paying close attention to the lyrics and answer the following questions.

  1. At the beginning of the video, there is a lyric "Ghetto to glory, let me tell you the story" and the song shared Bob Gibson's story. After listening to the song, what did you learn about Gibson's life?
  2. In the middle of "Glory" you heard Bob Gibson share that baseball has been his whole life. He gave baseball many amazing moments during his career, how do you think baseball helped him?
  3. "Glory" has many positive messages.
  4. List three positive messages you heard.
  5. Select one of the messages you heard and draw a picture or write a paragraph how that message can help inspire you.

Challenge

The songs "Glory" and "Game Changer" highlighted Bob Gibson's life and accomplishments and were written by St. Louis youth. Using the biography of Bob Gibson, write your own song or poem about Bob Gibson.

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