Kirk Gibson

High school

Waterford Kettering High School

College

Michigan State University

Pro team(s)

Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates

Kirk Gibson was born in Pontiac, Michigan, and starred in baseball and football at Waterford Kettering High School before choosing baseball after being drafted by the Detroit Tigers. He helped Detroit win the 1984 World Series and is best remembered for one of the most dramatic moments in baseball history: a pinch-hit walk-off home run off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers — hobbling on injured legs, pumping his fist as he rounded the bases. The moment remains one of the iconic images in sports. Gibson later managed the Arizona Diamondbacks and was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2015, responding with characteristic determination.