Bob Gibson, who spent the 17 seasons of a career in the Hall of Fame with the Cardinals of St. Louis, fight against pancreatic cancer.

Dick Zitzmann, Gibson's long-time agent, confirmed the news at St. Louis' post-expedition on Saturday. According to Zitzmann, Gibson, 83, was diagnosed a few weeks ago and has been hospitalized for the past two weeks. Chemotherapy treatments should begin Monday.

Following the Arizona Diamondbacks' Cardinals win, the team's Twitter account sent words of encouragement to their legendary ace.

"Good recovery, Bob, all the Cardinal Nation is behind you!" the Cardinals wrote Saturday late.

St. Louis Cardinals goaltender Bob Gibson in the seventh game of the 1967 World Series. (Photo: AP)

Gibson broke with the Cardinals in 1959 and will become one of the most dominant pitchers of the game in the 1960s.

He won two Cy Young Awards, as well as the NL MVP Award in 1968, and finished with a career EER of only 2.91. The Cardinals have won two championships during his tenure and Gibson has been named MVP World Series on both occasions. He had 3,117 career outs, 251 career games and nine times he won the gold glove.

Gibson retired after the 1975 season and was inducted into the Pantheon in 1981.

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