lis to work for the Tribune. By 1912, he felt ready to seek a newspaper job in Chicago, but the only available position was on the socialist paper, World. However, within a few months, a job had opened up at the Chicago Tribune, and Gibbons began what was to be a long and prominent association with "The World's Greatest Newspaper."
Gibbons soon managed to secure an assignment covering General John Pershing's punitive expedition against Francisco "Pancho" Villa along the Mexican border. The reporter's natural charm allowed him to establish a good working relationship with the grim general, a relationship that later served Gibbons well when the two met again on the battlefields of World War I.
However, Gibbons was not content to cover one side of the Mexican border conflict. He set out to meet with Villa and eventually interviewed the flamboyant bandit in a railroad boxcar. In fact, Gibbons became an unofficial press advisor to Villa. He encouraged the Mexican leader to postpone one planned attack until after the conclusion of the 1916 World Series, persuading him that American readers would pay more attention to
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