Early Life
Gibson was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the final of Pack and Victoria Gibson's seven children (five boys and two girls). Gibson's father died of tuberculosis three months prior to his birth, and Gibson himself was named Pack Robert Gibson in his father's honor. While he revered his father's legacy, Gibson disliked the name Pack, and later changed his first name to Robert. Despite a childhood that included health problems like rickets, and a serious case of either asthma or pneumonia when he was three, Gibson was active in sports in both informal and organized settings, particularly baseball and basketball. Gibson's brother Josh (no relation to the Negro Leagues star player), who was 15 years his senior, had a profound impact on his early life, serving as a mentor to him. Gibson was utilized on a variety of youth basketball and baseball teams his brother coached, many of which were organized through the local YMCA.
Gibson attended Omaha Technical High School, where during his tenure he participated on the track, basketball, and baseball teams. Health issues resurfaced for Gibson though, as he needed a doctor's permission to compete in high school sports because of a heart murmur that occurred in tandem with a rapid growth spurt. Gibson was named to the All-State basketball team during his senior year of high school by a newspaper in Lincoln, Nebraska, and soon after won a full athletic scholarship for basketball to Creighton University.
While at Creighton, Gibson majored in sociology, and continued to experience success playing basketball. At the end of Gibson's junior basketball season he averaged 22 points per game, and made third team Jesuit All-American. As his graduation from Creighton approached, the spring of 1957 proved to be a busy time for Gibson. Aside from getting married, Gibson had concurrently garnered the interest of Harlem Globetrotters basketball team and the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. In 1957, Gibson received a $3,000 bonus to sign with the Cardinals. He delayed his start with the organization for a year, playing basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters, earning the nickname "Bullet" and becoming famous for backhanded dunks. Gibson continued to play basketball even after starting his career with the Cardinals, until Cardinals general manager Bing Devine offered Gibson four thousand dollars to quit playing basketball during baseball's off-season. After accepting the offer, Gibson attended spring training with the Cardinals in 1958 before spending the remainder of the season in the minor leagues.
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