Statistics from the Negro Leagues are officially part of the Major League Baseball record books and there’s a Pittsburgher atop the charts: Josh Gibson.
Segregated Baseball
The formation of the the Negro National League in the 1920s was born out of discriminatory laws in the Jim Crow era that banned Black baseball players from competing alongside their White counterparts. That dark era officially ended when Jackie Robinson started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, becoming the first Black player to play an MLB game in the modern era.
Before that historic night, many professional Black players had been putting up impressive numbers, but none like Josh Gibson.
Josh Gibson (third from top-left) poses with his teammates at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh in 1942. (Mark Rucker / Transcendental Graphics via Getty)
Journey to the Top
Josh Gibson was born in Georgia and moved to Pittsburgh in his pre-teen years when his father landed a job at the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Company. He started playing baseball at age 16 and was subsequently recruited by the Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1928, then a semi-professional team.
Gibson’s professional career took off on July 30, 1930, when he started at catcher for Pittsburgh’s preeminent Negro League team the Homestead Grays. He was reportedly a spectator that night and was pulled from the stands when the team’s catcher suffered an injury.
Gibson never got the chance to play in the MLB before he died in 1947 (just three months before Jackie Robinson’s historic MLB debut) but his talent was undeniable. He was regarded as one of the best hitters by his peers and his skills earned him the nickname “the Black Babe Ruth.” Gibson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972 and he now rightfully holds several MLB hitting records.
⚾ From the archives: We spoke to Josh Gibson’s great-grandson Sean in 2022 about the Gibson legacy and his effort to bring baseball to Pittsburgh’s youth.
