Josh Gibson Finally Gets His Due
Negro League Star All-Time Greatest In Six MLB Categories
“There is a catcher that any big league club would like to buy for $200,000. His name is Gibson. He can do everything. He hits the ball a mile. He catches so easy he might as well be in a rocking chair. Throws like a rifle. Too bad this Gibson is a colored fellow.” — Walter Johnson.
Babe Ruth never did it; neither did New York Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle, though he did come close. Not the Yankees’ Lou Gehrig, Reggie Jackson, Joe DiMaggio, or Roger Maris. Frank Howard of the Washington Senators hit a ball called foul that cleared Yankee Stadium; some say it should have been called fair and a home run. Multiple witnesses have said they saw Negro League catcher Josh Gibson hit a home run out of old Yankee Stadium on three occasions, but Gibson himself said he didn’t. The Sporting News said he hit a ball within two feet of the top of the wall, measuring 580 ft. from home plate. Babe Ruth is still credited with the longest homer at Yankee Stadium at an “estimated” 575 ft. Statistics were somewhat fluid at the time.
In his career, Josh Gibson hit close to 800 home runs, some in the Negro League, others in the Mexican League, and even more, while “barnstorming,” best described as exhibition games, usually in small towns to promote the sport. You'll…
