Norwood Ringold Gibson [Gibby] (March 11, 1877 - July 7, 1959) was a starting pitcher

Starting pitcher

In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....

 in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 who played his entire career for the Boston Americans

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

 between and . Listed at 5' 10", 165 lb., Gibson batted and threw right-handed. A native of Peoria, Illinois

Peoria, Illinois

Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...

, he was signed by Boston out of the University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

.

During his rookie

Rookie

Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...

 1903 season, Gibson was the fourth man of a Boston rotation that included Cy Young

Cy Young

Denton True "Cy" Young was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. During his 22-year baseball career , he pitched for five different teams. Young was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937...

, Bill Dinneen

Bill Dinneen

William Henry Dinneen, alternately spelled Dineen , was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who followed his 12-year career from 1898 to 1909 with a highly regarded tenure as an American League umpire from 1909 to 1937...

, Long Tom Hughes

Long Tom Hughes

Thomas James Hughes was a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From through , Hughes played for the Chicago Orphans , Baltimore Orioles , Boston Americans , New York Highlanders and Washington Senators . He debuted on September 7, 1900, and played his final game on October 3,...

, Jesse Tannehill

Jesse Tannehill

Jesse Niles Tannehill was a dead-ball era left-handed pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Highlanders, Boston Red Sox and Pilgrims, and the Washington Senators. Tannehill was among the best pitchers of his era and was one of the best-hitting pitchers of all time...

 and Nick Altrock

Nick Altrock

Nicholas Altrock was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball.Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Altrock was one of the better pitchers in baseball for a brief period from to with the Chicago White Sox...

. He responded with a 13-9 mark, 76 strikeout

Strikeout

In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

s, and a 3.19 in 183⅓ innings pitched

Innings pitched

In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...

. His second season was much better, when he recorded 17 wins

Win (baseball)

In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...

, 112 strikeouts, a 2.21 ERA and 273.0 innings, all career-highs, as his .592 winning percentage

Winning percentage

In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...

 ranked him seventh between American League

American League

The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

 pitchers. He won a World Series

World Series

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

 ring with the Boston Americans 1903 World Champions

1903 World Series

The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series to be played in Major League Baseball. It matched the Boston Americans of the American League against the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League in a best-of-nine series, with Boston prevailing five games to three, winning the last...

, though he did not play in the series. The next two years, his playing time was limited by arm injuries. He retired after the 1906 season.

In a four-season career, Gibson posted a 34-32 record with 258 strikeouts and a 2.93 ERA in 85 appearances

Games pitched

In baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while...

, including 72 starts, 56 complete games, three shutout

Shutout

In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....

s, 12 games finished

Games finished

In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game...

, and 609.0 innings of work.

Gibson died in his homeland of Peoria, Illinois, at the age of 82.

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