Josh Gibson

Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 – January 20, 1947) was an American baseball catcher who played primarily in the Negro leagues. He played for the Homestead Grays from 1930 to 1931 before moving to the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1932 to 1936. He returned to the Grays from 1937 to 1939 and again from 1942 to 1946. In 1937 he played for Ciudad Trujillo in Trujillo's Dominican League, and from 1940 to 1941 he played in the Mexican League for Azules de Veracruz. Gibson served as the first manager of the Cangrejeros de Santurce, one of the most historic franchises of the Puerto Rico Baseball League.

Gibson was a power hitter who, by some accounts, hit close to 800 career home runs; in the Negro League statistical records his career home run total was 166, and Major League Baseball recognizes 171. He was known as the "black Babe Ruth," and some fans at the time who saw both men play called Ruth "the white Josh Gibson." Gibson never played in the American League or the National League because of the unwritten "gentleman's agreement" that prevented Black players from joining. In 1972, he became the second Negro league player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, after Satchel Paige.