Josh Gibson died following a stroke on Jan. 20, 1947. He was 35 years old. He had suffered with massive headaches brought about by a brain tumor that was diagnosed in 1943, but left untreated. Less than 3 months later, Jackie Robinson made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Sometimes, life’s just not fair.
Gibson is the subject of an exhibit that opened this week on the mezzanine level of the Mayflower Hotel. At Wednesday’s press preview, Josh’s great-grandson, Sean, participated in the unveiling of the display cases. Sean Gibson, who clearly has his great-granddad’s physique, spoke briefly about the Josh Gibson Foundation, of which he is president.
“The Foundation’s goal is to establish learning centers in the communities where Josh Gibson made his mark,” he said. “We’ve gotten the effort started in Pittsburgh [where he played with the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays], and since Josh spent 10 years with the Grays when they played at Griffith Stadium, D.C. was the perfect place to expand the program.”
The Josh Gibson Foundation focuses primarily on after-school reading, tutoring, and computer skills training, as well as bringing in motivational speakers to show children they have options in life.
The exhibit at the Mayflower is nothing to write home about: reproduction jerseys, a few photographs and newspaper articles, and a replica bat. But that’s really not what’s important, particularly since there’s very little genuine Negro League material still in existence. What’s really important, from my perspective, is re-introducing fans of every color to the fact that, once upon a time, something called a “Negro League” actually existed in this country.
How many times have you walked down a city street and seen someone wearing a jacket, T-shirt or cap that features the name of a Negro League team? I see it all the time, and on a couple of occasions, I asked the wearer if they could name any players from the league. One time someone said Jackie Robinson, but every other time I got a blank stare, or worse. To many it seems the Negro Leagues are a fashion statement and nothing more.
Nationals’ hitting coach Lenny Harris was at Wednesday’s preview, and he said it’s embarrassing how little many urban fans know about the Negro Leagues. “Why isn’t this stuff being taught in schools?” he said. “It’s a major part of black history, or just American history. I wish I knew a lot more about it.”
Harris, whose impact on Washington hitters has been obvious, remembers his father talking about Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige, but they were just names at the time. “I knew who Bob Gibson was, but Josh was like a fictional character,” he said. “Hit a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium? I can’t imagine it.”
Gibson, a catcher, is purported to have hit nearly a thousand home runs, but that’s counting games played against non-league competition, which would be like counting batting practice homers. Against Negro League pitching he hit 224 home runs in 2,375 at-bats, or about 51 per 550 at-bats; Babe Ruth averaged 42 home runs per 550 at-bats. Clearly, the man could slug with anyone.
The Gibson exhibit is free at the Mayflower through June 30. If you want to immerse yourself in Negro League history, go to the library and check out “The Complete Book of Baseball’s Negro Leagues: the Other Half of Baseball History,” written by John Holway, a D.C. area native and the ultimate authority on the topic.
Hear Phil Wood Saturdays at 10 a.m. on SportsTalk 980 AM and weekly on Comcast SportsNet’s WPL through the World Series.
