Hall of Fame
Paul Gibson was an incredibly talented three-sport athlete at Center Moriches High School (Section XI). Gibson earned numerous honors in baseball, basketball, and soccer during a career in which he earned eight varsity letters. He earned All-County honors once in basketball and twice in soccer, but was most known for a dominant baseball. Gibson was a two-time All-American in 1976 and 1977 and garnered All-State, All County and All-League honors from 1975-78. He posted a 36-5 record, 0.39 ERA and struck out 412 hitters in high school and his teams won three league titles and one country crown. In 1978, following his senior year of high school, he was drafted in the third round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Cincinnati Reds. The Detroit Tigers signed him as a free agent in 1984, and in 1987, the southpaw led the International League in victories and was third in games started. This paved the way to a Major League debut on April 8, 1988 as a relief pitcher. That same year, he was named the Tigers Rookie of the Year by the Detroit Baseball Writers Association. He played seven seasons in the Majors, 19 total seasons including minor league ball, with the Tigers, Mets and Yankees. Paul retired after the 1996 season, but not before accumulating 22 wins, 11 saves, 345 strikeouts and a 4.07 ERA in 556 innings. Following his professional career, Gibson was named head coach of the Center Moriches High School varsity baseball team, serving from 2000-2006 and guiding the team to two Long Island Championships and a 149-26 career record. In 2006, he became a scout for the Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners, and Kansas City Royals. Mr. Gibson has been inducted into the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame (1995) and the Center Moriches Hall of Fame (2012). In 2016, Center Moriches School District named its baseball field after Paul and retired his jersey number as well. He ran the All Pro Sports Academy in Bellport, Long Island from 1995-2012 and since then, Gibson has been the Senior Director of Pitching Performance for the Kansas City Royals. Paul resides in Center Moriches with his wife Carla. The couple has two sons and four grandchildren.