Josh Gibson, one of the greatest hitters of all time, dreamed of breaking baseball's color barrier. It may be that he nearly got his wish. It's rumored that at least two teams, the Pirates and the Senators, pursued Gibson during his prime in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Sadly, the powers that kept black players out of the Majors were very strong and neither team could get the deal done. Some say the team owners caved to pressure from the Commissioner's Office. Others speculate that the influential Negro Leagues boss Cum Posey had his hand in delaying integration, knowing that it would be the beginning of the end for his lucrative franchise. Several popular white sports figures of the day, such as pitcher Walter Johnson and journalist Shirley Povich, opined for Gibson's inclusion in the MLB - along with other talented black players - but to no avail. Years after Gibson's death, Larry Doby (the player who integrated the American League) said "One of the things that was disappointing and disheartening to a lot of the black players at the time was that Jackie [Robinson] was not the best player. The best was Josh Gibson. I think that's one of the reasons Josh died so early. He was heartbroken."
Gibson passed away only three months before Robinson's historic debut. My theory is that the ghost of the heartbroken slugger remained to ensure that his name and stature would not be forgotten. His ghost still remains, haunting us in a way, by reminding us of baseball's unjust and segregated past.
Most of the fields where Gibson played are long gone, but if you know where to look, his ghost isn't hard to find. When he was 12, his family moved from rural Georgia to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as part of the first great migration of southern blacks to northern cities. He started playing ball as a teenager and soon drew the attention of successful pro and semi-pro team owners, such as Cum Posey and Gus Greenlee. Posey and Greenlee operated competing teams in the Pittsburgh area and, over the next few years, they enjoyed luring Gibson back and forth away from one another. Next time you're in the Steel City, you can visit West Field, site of Cum Posey's Homestead Grays in the early 1940s. Up until very recently, visitors could still sit on the original bleachers under the original light towers. Now, the aging field is undergoing a $5M restoration project, which you can read about here. As far as I know, it's the only old Negro Leagues field in the city that is still purposed for baseball.
Gibson's other team, the Pittsburgh Crawfords, played most of it's home games at Greenlee Field. The stadium was demolished in 1938, but you can see the historical marker that stands at its former site. The field is significant as the first black-owned and black-built baseball park in the U.S., resulting from Gus Greenlee's frustration over his players not being allowed to use the locker rooms at white-controlled venues. Josh Gibson has his own historical marker as well, along with a couple of youth fields named in his memory. Before leaving town, make sure to catch a game at the Pittsburgh Pirates' PNC Park. In between innings sneak down to the Left Field Entrance to see a statue of Josh Gibson, along side six other star athletes who played for local Negro Leagues teams.
After tours through Mexico and the Dominican Republic, Gibson finished his career with the Homestead Grays during a time when the team played many of its home games at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC. The site is now occupied by the Howard University Hospital. Markers inside and outside the hospital pay tribute to the stadium and the teams/players who played there. Visitors will find photos and mentions of Gibson among the curation.
The storied sluggers ties to the nation's capital had still not been forgotten, decades later, when the city built a new stadium for the Washington Nationals. Three large statues were placed just inside the Center Field entrance: Walter Johnson, Frank Howard, and Josh Gibson. The legend lives on.
In 1943, Gibson was diagnosed with a brain tumor and elected against surgery. Although he remained a productive player, he was plagued by severe headaches for the rest of his short life. His easy-going and affable personality slowly deteriorated into something less pleasant, but his friends and family insist that is not how the beloved figure should be remembered.
Gibson passed away from a stroke in 1947 at age 36. In 1972, he became the first Negro Leagues position player inducted into baseball's National Hall of Fame. Yet, even with the honor and recognition of being a Hall of Famer, his grave site remained unmarked and largely unnoticed. Soon after his induction, Gibson's friends brought the issue to the attention of MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who supplied much of the money needed to purchase a small head stone.
Gibson passed away only three months before Robinson's historic debut. My theory is that the ghost of the heartbroken slugger remained to ensure that his name and stature would not be forgotten. His ghost still remains, haunting us in a way, by reminding us of baseball's unjust and segregated past.
Most of the fields where Gibson played are long gone, but if you know where to look, his ghost isn't hard to find. When he was 12, his family moved from rural Georgia to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as part of the first great migration of southern blacks to northern cities. He started playing ball as a teenager and soon drew the attention of successful pro and semi-pro team owners, such as Cum Posey and Gus Greenlee. Posey and Greenlee operated competing teams in the Pittsburgh area and, over the next few years, they enjoyed luring Gibson back and forth away from one another. Next time you're in the Steel City, you can visit West Field, site of Cum Posey's Homestead Grays in the early 1940s. Up until very recently, visitors could still sit on the original bleachers under the original light towers. Now, the aging field is undergoing a $5M restoration project, which you can read about here. As far as I know, it's the only old Negro Leagues field in the city that is still purposed for baseball. 
Gibson's other team, the Pittsburgh Crawfords, played most of it's home games at Greenlee Field. The stadium was demolished in 1938, but you can see the historical marker that stands at its former site. The field is significant as the first black-owned and black-built baseball park in the U.S., resulting from Gus Greenlee's frustration over his players not being allowed to use the locker rooms at white-controlled venues. Josh Gibson has his own historical marker as well, along with a couple of youth fields named in his memory. Before leaving town, make sure to catch a game at the Pittsburgh Pirates' PNC Park. In between innings sneak down to the Left Field Entrance to see a statue of Josh Gibson, along side six other star athletes who played for local Negro Leagues teams.
After tours through Mexico and the Dominican Republic, Gibson finished his career with the Homestead Grays during a time when the team played many of its home games at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC. The site is now occupied by the Howard University Hospital. Markers inside and outside the hospital pay tribute to the stadium and the teams/players who played there. Visitors will find photos and mentions of Gibson among the curation. The storied sluggers ties to the nation's capital had still not been forgotten, decades later, when the city built a new stadium for the Washington Nationals. Three large statues were placed just inside the Center Field entrance: Walter Johnson, Frank Howard, and Josh Gibson. The legend lives on.
In 1943, Gibson was diagnosed with a brain tumor and elected against surgery. Although he remained a productive player, he was plagued by severe headaches for the rest of his short life. His easy-going and affable personality slowly deteriorated into something less pleasant, but his friends and family insist that is not how the beloved figure should be remembered.Gibson passed away from a stroke in 1947 at age 36. In 1972, he became the first Negro Leagues position player inducted into baseball's National Hall of Fame. Yet, even with the honor and recognition of being a Hall of Famer, his grave site remained unmarked and largely unnoticed. Soon after his induction, Gibson's friends brought the issue to the attention of MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who supplied much of the money needed to purchase a small head stone.
The stone is simply inscribed "Josh Gibson. 1911 - 1947. Legendary Baseball Player." I think that's exactly how the man - and his ghost - would want us to remember him.
Photos by Danial Orange: 1. Josh Gibson's grave head stone; 2. West Field as it looked in 2009; 3. Pennsylvania historical marker for Greenlee Field; 4. Josh Gibson statue at Nationals Park; 5. image of Gibson's Hall of Fame plaque (from http://baseballhall.org/).
