Bob Gibson, feared pitcher for Cardinals, dies at 84
Bob Gibson, the St. Louis Cardinals’ Hall of Fame right-hander who became one of baseball’s most dominating pitchers, winning 251 games in 17 seasons with an intimidating fastball and an attitude to match, died Friday. He was 84.
His deathwas confirmed by Brian Bartow, a spokesman for the St. Louis Cardinals. Gibson announced in July 2019 that he had pancreatic cancer.
Through the summers of the 1960s and early ’ 70s, Gibson proved a relentless force, and he was at his best in the World Series.
Gibson won both the National League’sMVP Award and Cy Young Award, as its best pitcher, in 1968, when he won 22 games, struck out 268 batters, pitched 13 shutouts and posted an ERA of 1.12. The following year, Major League Baseball lowered the pitchers’ mounds to give batters a break, but Gibson won 20 games and struck out 269.
He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981, his first year of eligibility.
WNBA
STORM 93, ACES 80 » Breanna Stewart scored 37 points, including 11 to start the fourth quarter, to help Seattle beat Las Vegas in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.
Jewell Loyd added 28
points and Sue Bird had a WNBAplayoff-record 16 assists. Bird had 10 assists in the first half to also break that playoff record.
Stewart added 15 rebounds and four blocks. Shewas a point short of the WNBA Finals record set by Angel McCoughtry.
Baseball
AVILA SAYS TIGERS AREN’T
RULING OUT HINCH, CORA » Tigers general manager AlAvila said that Detroit is not ruling out the possibility of hiring A. J. Hinch or Alex Cora for its manager vacancy.
Hinch and Cora were suspended through the 2020 postseason for their roles in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.
The Tigers are in the market for a replacement for manager Ron Gardenhire,
who retired on Sept. 19.
LOUJOHNSON, HITWINNING HOMER IN ‘ 65 WORLD SERIES, DIES » “Sweet” Lou Johnson, who hit a key home run for the victorious Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the 1965 World Series and scored the only run in Sandy Koufax’s perfect game the same year, has died. He was 86.
Johnson died Wednesday night at his home in Los Angeles, according to the Dodgers. He had been in ill health and died a day after his birthday.
Johnson played 17 seasons in professional baseball, including eight years in the majors with the Chicago Cubs (1960, ’68), California Angels (1961, ’69), Milwaukee Braves (1962), Dodgers ( 1965- 67) and Cleveland Indians (1968). He hit .258 with 48 homers and 232 RBI in 677 games.
Tennis
THIEM, HALEP ADVANCE TO 4TH ROUND » U. S. Open champion Dominic Thiem has advanced to the fourth round with another straight-sets win, beating Casper Ruud 6- 4, 6-3, 6-1.
Thiem was the losing finalist to Rafael Nadal at the last two French Opens.
In the women’s draw, top-seeded Simona Halep defeated Amanda Anisimova 6- 0, 6-1. The 19-yearold Anisimova had beaten the 2018 champion in straights set in the quarterfinals
last year.
Golf
BRADLEYLEADSBY2SHOTS GOING INTO WEEKEND » In his debut in the Sanderson Farms Championship, Keegan Bradley made three straight birdies on the back nine for a 7-under 65 and a two-shot lead over J.T. Poston and Charley Hoffman.
Bradley was at 13-under 131 at the Country Club of Jackson.
Poston made five birdies on the back nine for a 67, while Hoffman shot 69.
Hockey
KINGS FIRE MASCOT EMPLOYEE
ACCUSED OF HARASSMENT » The Los Angeles Kings have fired the employee who dresses as the hockey team’s mascot after an investigation into a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him earlier this year.
TimSmith was fired, the Kings said in a brief statement. Smith wore a 6-foot-4 lion suit and played Bailey, the Kings’ mascot, in his job as the team’s senior manager of game presentation and events.
The lawsuit alleged Smith verbally and physically harassed a former member of the Kings Ice Crew and then fired her after she protested. A Kings team official persuaded her to return to the Ice Crew, but the lawsuit claims the harassment continued, and she eventually quit.