Playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, Gibson had one of the greatest seasons ever for a pitcher in 1968. He set a major league record with a 1.12 ERA, had 13 shutouts in a 22-9 season and led the NL in strikeouts with 268 in 304 innings while walking only 62. He won the NL's Cy Young and most valuable player awards.

After his incredible 1968 season, Gibson won the first and fourth games of the World Series against the Detroit Tigers, setting a record of 7 consecutive series wins. Gibson also broke his own record with 35 strikeouts, but he lost the seventh game 4-1, in part because of a misplayed fly ball that led to 3 Detroit runs.

Gibson won a second Cy Young Award in 1970, when he had a 23-7 record and a 3.12 ERA. He spent his entire career with the Cardinals, retiring after the 1975 season with a 251-174 record, 56 shutouts, and a 2.91 ERA. He struck out 3,117 hitters and walked 1,336 in 3,884 innings. He is one of the greatest baseball pitchers ever.