Gibson was born in Pontiac, Michigan on May 28, 1957, grew up in Waterford, Michigan (attending Waterford Kettering High School), and attended Michigan State University where he was an All-American wide receiver in football. Gibson’s college football career was distinguished by leading the Spartans to a tie for the Big Ten title, setting school and conference receiving records, starring in the Hula Bowl and Senior Bowl, and making several All-America teams. For his accomplishments on the football field, Gibson was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in January 2017.

Gibson was known for hitting clutch home runs. In the eighth inning of Game 5 of the 1984 World Series between the Tigers and Padres, he faced Goose Gossage, one of the game’s premier relievers, with Detroit up 5–4 and runners on second and third with one out. An intentional (or at least semi-intentional) walk seemed to be in order, especially because Gibson had already homered earlier in the game. However, Gossage told San Diego manager Dick Williams he thought he could strike him out. Indeed, Gossage had struck out Gibson in his very first Major League at-bat in 1979 on 3 pitches, and Kirk had only managed one bunt-single against Gossage in 10 previous plate appearances. When asked about Gibson, Gossage later said he had told teammate Tim Lollar in the second inning, “I own him.” If the Padres could hold the Tigers and score a couple runs in the ninth, they would force the Series back to San Diego and maybe turn the tide. In the Sounds of the Game video, Detroit manager Sparky Anderson was seen yelling at Gibson from the dugout, “He don’t want to walk you!”, showing four fingers and then making a bat-swinging motion, the universal baseball gesture for “swing away.” Gibson got the message and launched Gossage’s 1–0 fastball deep into Tiger Stadium’s right field upper deck for a three-run homer, icing the game and the Series for the Tigers.

Early in his career, Gibson was proclaimed by manager Sparky Anderson to be the next Mickey Mantle. Anderson later apologized and said that probably put too much pressure on a young and inexperienced Gibson. Nevertheless, Gibson was considered a versatile power/speed player in the 1980s who was able to hit home runs as well as steal bases. He finished in the top 10 in home runs 3 times in his career and ranked in the top 10 in stolen bases 4 times. He fell one home run short of becoming the first Tiger in the 30–30 club in 1985.

Gibson married JoAnn Sklarski on December 22, 1985, in a double ceremony where Tiger pitcher Dave Rozema married JoAnn’s sister Sandy. They were married at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. The Gibsons reside in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and have four children: Colleen, Cam, Kirk, and Kevin. Gibson’s son Cam was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 5th round, 160th overall, in the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. His son Kevin is a defenseman for the Fort Wayne Komets in the ECHL.

Gibson played as the regular right fielder for the Detroit Tigers from 1983 to 1987. He helped the Tigers win the 1984 World Series. He became a free agent after the 1985 season but received no significant offers because of what was later determined to be collusion among the owners of MLB teams. He re-signed with the Tigers and in 1987, helped them to win the American League East by two games over the Blue Jays in an enthralling divisional race. However, Detroit lost the 1987 American League Championship Series to the eventual World Champion Twins.

Gibson set an aviation record in 1987. He flew a Cessna 206 to a height of 25,200 feet in Lakeland, Florida. The record was certified by the National Aeronautic Association.

In 1988, an arbitrator ruled that baseball team owners had colluded against the players in an effort to stem free agency. He granted several players, including Gibson, immediate free agency. Gibson signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gibson joined the Dodgers in 1988, and immediately brought a winning attitude after a publicized blow-up when pitcher Jesse Orosco put shoe black in his cap during a spring training prank. Gibson openly criticized the team, which had finished 4th in the NL West the previous season, for its unprofessionalism. He became the team’s de facto leader, and won a controversial NL MVP award after batting .290 with 25 home runs, 76 RBIs, 106 runs, and 31 stolen bases. While he didn’t lead the league in any major category, the intensity and leadership he brought to an increasingly successful team likely won him the award over players with more impressive statistics. (MVP runner-up Darryl Strawberry of the New York Mets, for example, led the NL with 39 home runs that season.)

In the 1988 National League Championship Series against the New York Mets, Gibson made an improbable catch in left field at a rain-soaked Shea Stadium in Game 3. Racing back, he slipped on the wet grass and, while on his way down with his knees on the ground and the rest of his body suspended, reached out and made a full extension catch to save a potential Mookie Wilson double; however, the Dodgers lost the game 8–4. In Game 4, his solo home run in the top of the 12th proved to be the winning hit. In Game 5, he hit a two-out three-run homer in the fifth; the Dodgers ended up winning the game 7–4. Nonetheless, his LCS heroics served as but a prelude to the career-defining moment that awaited him in the subsequent World Series.

Gibson is perhaps best known for his one and only plate appearance in the 1988 World Series against the Oakland Athletics. Having injured both legs during the NLCS, Gibson was not expected to play at all. In Game 1, however, with the Dodgers trailing by a score of 4–3, Mike Davis on first base, and two out in the ninth inning, manager Tommy Lasorda unexpectedly inserted his hobbled league MVP as a pinch hitter. Gibson, limping back and forth between a pulled left hamstring and a swollen right knee, made his way to the plate to face Oakland’s future Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley. Gibson quickly got behind in the count 0–2, but laid off a pair of outside pitches that were called balls. He then kept the count at 2–2 by fouling off a pitch. On the 7th pitch of his at bat, a ball, Davis stole second. With an awkward, almost casual swing, Gibson used pure upper-body strength—and according to Gibson, advanced scouting-based knowledge of what the pitcher would likely throw with that count—to smack a 3–2 backdoor slider over the right-field fence. He hobbled around the bases and pumped his right fist as his jubilant teammates stormed the field. The Dodgers won the game, 5–4, and won the World Series, four games to one.

In 1991, Gibson signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals, and then in 1992 he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Neal Heaton. He retired from baseball temporarily, after being released by the Pirates on May 5, 1992. A month later, Gibson got an offer to return to Detroit—not with the Tigers, but to play football again, with the Arena Football League’s Detroit Drive; he declined the offer. The following spring, Sparky Anderson convinced him to return to baseball. He spent the final three years of his career (1993–1995) back with the Tigers, including a renaissance season in 1994 when he hit 23 home runs before the strike ended the season.

In 2003, he was named the Tigers’ bench coach by new Tigers manager and former Tigers teammate Alan Trammell. He served in that position until the midway point of the 2005 season when he was moved from bench coach to hitting coach, swapping positions with Bruce Fields. As of the start of the 2007 Major League Baseball season, Gibson became the new Arizona Diamondbacks bench coach.

On July 1, 2010, the Arizona Diamondbacks fired A. J. Hinch as manager and promoted Gibson from his position as bench coach to interim manager. Shortly after the season, Gibson was named permanent manager and given a two-year contract. In his first full year as manager, Gibson led the Diamondbacks to their first N.L. West title since 2007, when most sports writers expected them to be in last place for the third time in a row. He was named NL Manager of the Year on November 16, 2011. On September 26, 2014 the Arizona Diamondbacks fired Gibson, ending his four-year tenure with the team. He finished his Diamondbacks career with a 353–375 regular season and 2–3 post–season record.

On February 10, 2015, it was announced that Gibson would return as a color commentator for the Detroit Tigers on Fox Sports Detroit, along with former teammate Jack Morris.

Gibson is an avid deer hunter. He and former teammate David Wells, along with former MLB pitcher Jake Peavy, own a 1,300-acre hunting ranch near Millersburg, Michigan, which they named the “Buck Falls Ranch”. On April 28, 2015, it was announced that Gibson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

He was nominated for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame multiple times before being elected in 2017.

On January 28, 2019, Gibson was named a special assistant for the Detroit Tigers.