Bob Gibson and Bob Uecker holding hands in the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals team photo. The prank initiated by Uecker, who whispered the idea to Gibson. Both players smiled widely for the photo, but when the team and management noticed, the photo had to be retaken, and both men were fined for the incident.
Seconds before the photo was taken, Uecker (a backup catcher) had whispered to Gibson (the team’s intimidating ace pitcher), “We should hold hands.” Gibson happily did, and they held hands, and they smiled big, and this was 1964. They did it simply as a gag to break the stiffness of the formal moment, not for any political or social statement. When management discovered the pose in the developed photo, officials considered it unprofessional and a distraction. Both players were fined an amount often cited as around $200 or $300 total.
The original photograph was discarded, and the entire team had to gather to retake the official picture. The incident became a famous anecdote, which Uecker himself later recounted on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1971: “Management didn’t think it was funny. But it was the only way I could keep Gibson from hitting me, by holding onto his pitching hand.”
This time very purposely putting Uecker and Gibson in separate rows. You will notice in the official team photo, though, they both still have huge smiles on their faces. They knew!
While some have interpreted the gesture as a subtle statement about racial unity during the Civil Rights era (Gibson was Black, Uecker was white), both players maintained it was purely a harmless prank. That same season, the Cardinals went on to win the 1964 World Series.

































