Labatt Park - George (Mooney) Gibson

George (Mooney) Gibson

One of the early stars to emerge from Tecumseh Park was London West resident, George Gibson, a young bricklayer-homebuilder turned catcher who enjoyed a lengthy playing career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, winning the World Series in 1909 by beating Ty Cobb's Detroit Tigers. When he arrived back at the train station in his hometown on October 27, 1909, there were more than 5,000 cheering fans to greet him. London, at the time, had approximately 35,000 residents.

Gibson played in the Major Leagues until 1918, 12 years with the Pirates and two years with the New York Giants, appearing in 1,213 games.

Gibson first signed a pro contract in 1903 and joined the Pittsburgh Pirates two years later. He had a strong throwing arm and led National League catchers in fielding percentage several times. Known as a developer of young pitchers, Gibson later managed the Toronto Maple Leafs of the AAA International League in 1919, the Pirates (1920–1922, 1932–1934) and the Chicago Cubs (1925).

He was named Canada's baseball player of the half century and in 1958 was the first baseball player elected to the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. He was subsequently inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum in 1987 and was one of the inaugural 10 inductees into the London Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.