Pain? What pain?

Bob Gibson after taking Roberto Clemente’s line drive off his right leg 59 years ago today

‍Future Hall of Famer Bob Gibson suffers a fractured right fibula 59 years ago tonight when Pittsburgh’s Roberto Clemente strikes Gibson in the leg during the fourth inning of the Cardinals’ 6-4 loss to the Pirates in St. Louis.

And, of course, Gibson being Gibson – and that would be tenacious – wants to keep pitching on this Saturday night before a crowd of 39,440 at Busch Stadium.

“I couldn’t get up right away,” Gibson later tells reporters, “and (athletic trainer) Bob Bauman rushed out to check my leg and spray ethyl chloride on it.

“I said, ‘I hate to tell you, Doc, but you’re spraying the wrong place.’ He advised me to take a look, and I saw what he saw – a dent in the skin the shape of a baseball. It was odd that I couldn’t feel where I had been struck, but since I couldn’t feel it, I wasn’t particularly worried. I told Doc to put a little tape on it and let me get back to work.”

Gibson then faces three more batters – future Hall of Famers Willie Stargell and Bill Mazeroski, as well as Donn Clendenon – before relenting and leaving the game.

He does not pitch again until after Labor Day. Just in time to lead the Cardinals into the 1967 World Series, where Gibson is named the MVP after winning all three of his starts against the Boston Red Sox.

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