One of the legends of Alabama barbecue, the late Robert “Big Bob” Gibson of Decatur’s Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, will be inducted into the national American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame later this year.
Gibson, who is credited with inventing Alabama white barbecue sauce, joins two other posthumous inductees and four living inductees in the Barbecue Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.
The American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame announced this year’s inductees in a press release today.
Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q’s Chris Lilly, a multiple Memphis in May world champion pitmaster who is married to Bob Gibson’s great-granddaughter, is already a member of the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 2016.
Having his great-grandfather-in-law join him in the barbcue hall is a proud moment for the entire Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q family, Lilly told AL.com this afternoon.
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“This is extra special not only to me and the family but for the city of Decatur,” Lilly said. “Big Bob Gibson’s (restaurant) has meant so much to all the people who have grown up here, and Big Bob Gibson has meant so much to the Alabama barbecue community.
“When he started in 1925, he had so much influence not only in his family -- all five of his children went into the barbecue business -- but countless numbers of people who have been through the pit rooms working at Big Bob Gibson’s and gone off to do their own thing and keep the traditions that Big Bob Gibson started alive in Alabama,” Lilly added.
“So now what we think of as Alabama barbecue and all the things that set us apart, a lot of those things can be traced back to Big Bob Gibson in his pit room.”
The late John “Big Daddy” Bishop of Dreamland Bar-B-Que in Tuscaloosa was inducted into the hall of fame in 2019, and South Carolina native Rodney Scott, who has two locations of his Rodney Scott’s BBQ in the Birmingham metro area, joined the hall of fame in 2021.
The 2024 inductees will be recognized during the 44th American Royal World Series of Barbecue, which takes place Oct. 30 through Nov. 3 in Kansas City, Kansas.
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In addition to Gibson, the other legacy inductees in the Barbecue Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024 are the late Matt Garner of Houston and the late Jose “Joe” Romero of Los Angeles.
The four living inductees are Danielle Bennett of Auburndale, Fla.; Rick Browne of Portland, Ore,; Steve Grady of Dudley, N.C.; and Ed Maurin of Kansas City, Mo.
Van Sykes, the longtime owner and pitmaster at Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q in Bessemer, had been one of the 10 finalists for induction in Class of 2024. Those finalists were announced on May 8
“Being inducted in the Barbecue Hall of Fame is a prestigious honor for these individuals,” Jackie McClaskey, president and CEO of the American Royal Association, said in a media release. “For many, barbecue is a sport. These pitmasters, restaurant owners and barbecue enthusiasts are talented, creative individuals with a distinct passion for their ‘sport’ and have dedicated their careers, or their lives, to service in the barbecue industry.”
The American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame is a national organization dedicated to recognizing, documenting and preserving the heritage of barbecue.
For more information about the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame, go here.
This post was updated at 5:05 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, 2024, to add comments from Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q.