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We’re Contacted by Descendant of Josh Gibson

Today we feature something special for all our readers. I recently had a lengthy phone conversation with Pittsburgh resident Sean Gibson, the great-grandson of Josh Gibson. Sean is also the Executive Director of the Josh Gibson Foundation. 

As I’ve said many times, we always love it when we’re contacted by descendants of former players. It doesn’t matter if the player was a star or a sub. But when the player was a superstar Hall-of-Famer, that makes it even more exciting.

That Josh Gibson is one of the greatest sluggers in history is hardly in dispute. Often mentioned among baseball’s immortals, his life was tragically cut short at the age of 35 in 1947, shortly before Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier.

The stories of Josh Gibson’s mammoth home runs have become the stuff of legend. One unverified account said he once hit a towering blast at Yankee Stadium that traveled about 580 feet. Another said that he hit the only fair ball ever to completely leave Yankee Stadium. Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith once said: “He hit more home runs into Griffith Stadium’s distant left-field bleachers than the entire American League.”

In various publications, the 12-time Negro League All-Star has been credited with as many as 84 homers in one season. His Hall of Fame plaque states he hit “almost 800 homers in his 17-year career.” Gibson’s lifetime batting average against all competition was higher than .350, with one reference putting it at .384. In recorded at-bats against major league pitching, Josh hit .426. He won nine home run titles and four batting championships. In 2000, the Sporting News ranked him 18th on their list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players.

I started our conversation by asking Sean what it’s like being related to a legend like Josh Gibson. “It’s great, great for our family. The city of Pittsburgh has always welcomed the Gibson family. We have many descendants in the area.”

There are many reasons for this warm embrace. Although he was born in Buena Vista, Georgia, Josh’s family moved to Pittsburgh when he was 12 and he spent his formative years there. In addition, Josh had many of his best seasons in Pittsburgh, playing for the two great Pittsburgh Negro League teams: the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords. There’s now a Josh Gibson street, plus baseball fields and schools named in his honor. As Josh Gibson’s direct descendant, Sean is in high demand for speaking engagements and appearances throughout the Pittsburgh area.

Sean traced his relationship back to Josh Gibson. He explained that Josh Gibson was known in his family as “Josh Senior.” He was the father of twins, a son and a daughter. The son was also named Josh and was known as “Josh Junior,” or just as “Junior.” He is Sean’s grandfather. Tragically, Josh Senior’s wife Helen died during the childbirth of the twins. Josh was emotionally devastated over her death and some who knew him said he never fully recovered. Josh Junior’s daughter, who retained the Gibson family name, is Sean’s mother.

Josh Gibson also had a younger brother, Jerry, who played for the Cincinnati Tigers, and a sister, Annie (Gibson) Mahaffey, who lived into her nineties. As Josh’s surviving sibling, Annie had possession of most of the Josh Gibson memorabilia. About ten years ago, Annie’s daughter, Lois Gibson Cater gave Sean one of Josh’s MVP trophies from his time in the Puerto Rican Leagues.

Josh Junior also played in the Negro Leagues as a third baseman for the Homestead Grays in 1949 and 1950. Junior actually started out in baseball as the batboy for the Pittsburgh Crawfords. Teammate Sam Bankhead took young Junior under his wing and served as a mentor and positive male role model.

Sean has many fond memories of his time spent with his grandfather, Junior Gibson. As the son of Josh Gibson, Junior was asked to attend many Negro League conventions and reunions in the 1990s. He also accepted many posthumous awards on behalf of his father. Sean, in his twenties at the time, served as Junior’s driver to many of these functions. This was always a thrill for Sean, giving him the opportunity to actually meet and chat with greats of the Negro Leagues who had been former teammates and/or opponents of Josh Gibson. Sean agreed with a sentiment I’ve picked up over the years: In spite of the hardships they endured, many veterans were quick to express their love for the Negro Leagues. A recurring theme was that their cherished memories from the Negro Leagues would stay with them forever.

Sean also recalled the enormous respect Josh Gibson garnered from his Negro League contemporaries. They were unanimous in their opinion of Josh as “the greatest player in Negro League history.” Cool Papa Bell once said of him: “He was a hitter, one of the greatest you ever saw.” Sean frequently heard Josh described as “a great guy, a decent guy,” “funny,” and “a real jokester.” 

Josh Gibson’s baseball ability was also well known to his major league contemporaries, sadly summed up by this quote from Walter Johnson:

“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.”

Sean related one funny story from his meeting with Double-Duty Radcliffe. Casting a look at Sean, he said, “Sean, you look just like your great-grandfather.” Sean had never heard this before and believes what caught Double-Duty’s eye was Sean’s 6’2” muscular build, similar to Josh Gibson.

I had a few more questions for Sean and read to him this quote from Hall-of Famer Larry Doby, asking for his reaction:

“One of the things that was disappointing and disheartening to a lot of the black players at the time was that Jackie – although a great player – was not the best player. The best was Josh Gibson.”

Sean agreed with the sentiment, and elaborated on his thoughts about Jackie Robinson:

“Josh Gibson may have been the greatest player, but Jackie was the right one for the time. What if Jackie had failed? You know what the response would have been? ‘We told you so.’ Who knows how long the doors would have been closed?”

Did the Negro League players regret not playing in the major leagues?

“Sure they would have liked to play in the majors, but they knew it wasn’t going to happen. Society made that decision for them, so they just moved on with their lives. They knew how good they were, they didn’t have to prove anything to anybody. Josh had his troubles, but he had a pretty good life. He was making good money, which included ‘gate money.’ Like Satchel Paige, people paid to see the great ones play, and so they were given a piece of the gate.”

Did Josh die of a broken heart because he was denied entry to the major leagues?

“I don’t think that’s accurate and neither did Josh’s son, Junior who once said: ‘When I hear that stuff about how my father died of a broken heart that upsets me. Cause that wasn’t my father. He was the last guy to brood about something he could do nothing about.’ “

Was he as good as Babe Ruth?

“That’s impossible to tell. He was a great ballplayer, not just a Negro League player. You can’t tell who was the greatest ever because Josh never played against white players, and Babe never played against black players. They were both great players.”

Sean commented numerous times about the debt owed to Rube Foster, the inspiration behind the founding of the Negro Leagues: “Without him there may not have been a Josh Gibson. There may not have been a Jackie Robinson. He definitely doesn’t get enough credit.” Sean also mentioned the enormous debt of gratitude the Negro Leagues owed to Ted Williams, who used his 1966 Hall-of-Fame induction speech to advocate for opening the hallowed doors to the stars of the Negro Leagues. In 1972, Josh and Buck Leonard were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, following behind the first Negro League inductee, Satchel Paige.

Sean also recalled one special moment from his youth when he first realized he was related to someone very important:

“When I was about 12-13 years old, in 8^th grade, a friend took out a book from the library on Josh Gibson. I saw the book, asked if I could borrow it, and took it home to read it. Prior to this I had heard family conversations about Josh Gibson, but really didn’t give it a lot of thought. But now I actually saw a book about him. Something snapped in my brain. From that moment on I wanted to learn as much as possible about Josh Gibson, and I’ve never stopped. It was truly an awakening moment.”

The Gibson athletic ability has been passed down to Sean and he played sports in high school and at the college level. Surprisingly, baseball was not his top sport. He was more interested in basketball and football. He attended Langley high school in Pittsburgh and later attended Edinburgh University of Pennsylvania on scholarship and graduated with a degree in criminal justice.

Sean is now the Executive Director of the Josh Gibson Foundation, founded by his grandfather, Junior Gibson, in 1998-99.  In addition to the great work the Foundation does for the Pittsburgh community, including summer camps, mentoring programs, and, as Sean put it, “keeping kids off the streets,” one of its primary goals is to keep the legacy of Josh Gibson alive for a new generation of baseball fans. Due to the success of the foundation, Sean agrees that many more people are aware of Josh Gibson today than they were 20-40 years ago.

How good was Josh Gibson? It’s hard for us who never saw him play to judge; but as we close, let these quotes from those who did see him play  sink in:

“I played with Willie Mays and against Hank Aaron. They were tremendous players, but they were no Josh Gibson.” – HOFer Monte Irvin

“He was superhuman, the greatest player who ever lived, there’ll never be another like him in a thousand years.” – HOFer Satchel Paige

“Josh was a better power hitter than Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, or anybody else I’ve ever seen. Anything he touched was hit hard. Shortstops would move to left field when Josh came to the plate.” -Negro League pitcher and manager, Alonzo Boone

I’m very grateful to Sean Gibson for generously sharing his time with me as we celebrate the life and career of his great grandfather, Hall-of-Famer, Josh Gibson.  I’m sure his information will serve as a source of enjoyment and inspiration to our readers, many of whom are avid students of baseball history.

Please take a moment to visit the Josh Gibson Foundation

Gary Livacari 

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Information: Phone conversation with Sean Gibson; Excerpts edited from Josh GIbson Wikipedia page; SABR biography of Josh Gibson by Bill Johnson

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