Whose most successful single was a cover of a song written by a retired baseball pitcher?
Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (born November 9, 1935) is a retired American baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–75). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot", Gibson tallied 251 wins, 3,117 strikeouts, and a 2.91 earned run average (ERA) during his career. A nine-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, he won two Cy Young Awards and the 1968 National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. In 1981, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. The Cardinals retired his uniform number 45 in September 1975 and inducted him into the team Hall of Fame in 2014.
Jim Greengrass James Raymond Greengrass (born October 24, 1927) is a former professional baseball player. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Yankees at the age of 16. His minor league career spanned two years and included a failed attempt as a pitcher as well as two years of military duty. He played five seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1952 until 1956, for the Cincinnati Reds (known as the "Redlegs" for part of his tenure) and Philadelphia Phillies, primarily as an outfielder. His career was cut short because of phlebitis. Greengrass shares with Pop Dillon the record for the most doubles hit on the opening day of the Major League Baseball season, with four doubles for the Reds on the 13th of April, 1954.