CSG-certified Bob Gibson Rookie Card Sells for Thousands on eBay

With a white border, pink mask, facsimile signature and big smile, the Bob Gibson rookie card is one of the more recognizable and sought after cards from the 1959 Topps set. The card has continued to rise in price over the years, especially in high grades.

For example, the experts at Certified Sports Guaranty® (CSG®) awarded this 1959 Topps #514 Bob Gibson card a CSG 8 grade, and it recently sold on eBay for $4,995. The card also received sub-grades of 9 for Centering, 7.5 for Corners, 9 for Edges and 8.5 for Surface.

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Gibson pitched 17 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, finishing his career with 251 wins, 3,117 strikeouts and a 2.91 ERA. He was a nine-time All-Star, two-time Cy Young Award winner, the 1968 National League Most Valuable Player, and he won two World Series Championships. In 1981, his first year of eligibility, Gibson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Gibson’s 1968 season stands out as one of the greatest in the modern game. He finished the season with a 1.12 ERA, 13 shutouts and over 300 innings pitched, with only 38 earned runs allowed. ESPN has ranked this incredible performance as the second best pitching season since 1960, topped only by Pedro Martinez for the Red Sox in 2000.

To this day, Gibson is the Cardinals’ all-time leader in wins, strikeouts, shutouts, games started and complete games. There is no doubt that he will always be remembered as a legend on the mound. But, going back to that big smile, he also spent time playing basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters. How’s that for a superstar athlete?