1975 Great Plains Greats Bob Gibson Was Just … Great

On September 3, 1975, future Hall of Famer Bob Gibson took the mound for the final time in his 17-year career. That outing was a one-inning (the 7th) relief stint in which the Cardinals great gave up five earned runs to the Chicago Cubs.

It was a forgettable finale to an inimitable career and came nearly two months after Hoot’s last start.

He didn’t have to wait that long for a little better of a sendoff, though.

That’s thanks to the Great Plains Sports Collectors Association and their first annual convention, held in Des Moines, Iowa, from September 12-14.

The GPSCA was a groundbreaking organization when it came to putting on whiz-bang shows, and their 1975 soiree featured great autograph guests like Johnny Mize and Cool Papa Bell, a 12-page program, and … yes … a set of baseball cards made just for the occasion.

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The 1975 Great Plains Greats set was, well, Great, with a 42-card checklist that featured gobs of Hall of Famers (or soon-to-be’s) like Bell, Mickey Mantle, and Bob Feller, as well as recent superstars like Roger Maris and Denny McLain.

And the most recent superstar of all?

Yeah, it was Bob Gibson, lining up on card #40, right between Casey Stengel and Mantle. Gibson shows his Cards uniform to good effect, even though the shot is in black-and-white (the red border helps).

It was a fitting sendoff for a an all-time great, laid before an audience that could appreciate it like no other.

Wow! Wax of the Day

OK, so this is not wax at all, and it’s not even unopened, but it’s definitely nostalgic and not a card …

It’s a program from that 1975 GPSCA convention, in all its glory. If you’re a fan of hobby history, this thing is amazing, and the listing itself has some pretty good retro flavor.

Check out the full eBay listing here (affiliate link).