John Russell Gibson (May 6, 1939 – July 27, 2008) was an American professional baseball catcher who played for the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1967 and 1972. Listed at and , he batted and threw right-handed. Early years Gibson was born and raised in Fall River, Massachusetts, and was a graduate of B.M.C. Durfee High School, where he was a three-sport star, including playing forward for the 1956 New England championship basketball team. Gibson played briefly for the Falmouth All-Stars of the Cape Cod Baseball League in 1957, just prior to being signed by the Red Sox. In his only game with Falmouth, he hit two home runs. Career In June 1957, Red Sox scout Joe Dugan signed Gibson to a contract with the Oklahoma City Indians of the Texas League, although Gibson never played for them. Gibson played for ten years in Minor League Baseball, spending seasons in the Class D Midwest League and New York–Penn League (1957–1958), Class B Carolina League (1959–1961), Class A Eastern League (1962), Triple-A Pacific Coast League (1963–1964), and Triple-A International League (1965–1966). After the 1966 season, when he hit .292 with Triple-A Toronto, Gibson was added to Boston's major league roster. Boston Red Sox 1967 As a 27-year-old rookie, Gibson made his major league debut with the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on April 14, 1967, catching fellow rookie Billy Rohr, starting pitcher against Whitey Ford and the New York Yankees. Rohr was one strike away from a no-hitter when Yankees' catcher Elston Howard looped a two-out, ninth inning single to right-center field. Coincidentally, Howard would be traded to Boston later that season, sharing catching duties with Gibson through the next season. Gibson also contributed offensively to Rohr's 3–0 one-hit victory, going 2-for-4 and scoring a run. In early May, Gibson was optioned to the Pittsfield Red Sox of the Eastern League (then at the Double-A level); he was recalled to Boston later in the month. On June 12, Gibson hit a two-run home run at Fenway Park off of Joe Verbanic to help defeat the Yankees, 3–1; it was his first major league homer. During the regular season, Gibson appeared in 49 major league games, batting .203 with one home run and 15 RBIs. A member of the pennant-winning 1967 Red Sox "Impossible Dream" team, Gibson caught the first game of that year's