Josh Gibson

Josh Gibson was the greatest power hitter in baseball history — a statement that is not hyperbole but mathematical fact. Playing in the Negro Leagues from 1930 to 1946, Gibson hit nearly 800 home runs and batted over .350 for his career, numbers that dwarf anything achieved in the major leagues. He was called "the Black Babe Ruth," but those who saw both play said Ruth should have been called "the white Josh Gibson."

Born in Buena Vista, Georgia, in 1911, Gibson moved to Pittsburgh as a boy and joined the Homestead Grays at age 18. He quickly became the most feared hitter in the Negro Leagues, combining extraordinary power with remarkable batting average. He won nine home run titles and two batting titles, and his estimated 800+ career home runs would make him the all-time leader in organized baseball by a wide margin.

Gibson never got the chance to play in the major leagues. He joined the ancestors in January 1947 — just three months before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color line. He was only 35 years old. In 1972, Gibson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and in 2024, Major League Baseball officially incorporated Negro League statistics into its records, meaning Gibson's numbers finally stand alongside — and above — those of his white contemporaries. The greatest hitter baseball has ever known finally received his due.