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Joshua Gibson
Pittsburgh Crawfords
Catcher
Born: December 21, 1911, Buena Vista, GA
Major League Teams: Homestead Grays 1931; Pittsburgh Crawfords 1933-1936; Homestead Grays 1937-1940, 1942-1946
Died: January 20, 1947, Pittsburgh, PA (35)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1972
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| 1941 - Gibson and Satchel Paige |
Some accounts credit Gibson with between 800 and 1,000 home runs during his professional baseball career. His annual home run tallies were said to be in the 70s and 80s, although his official statistics (for now) show only 113 career home runs. During a playoff game in 1934 at Yankee Stadium against the Chicago American Giants, witnesses say Gibson hit a home run blast completely out of the ballpark. He played year-round during the prime of his career, playing in independent leagues and in the recognized Negro Leagues for either the Grays or Crawfords, all while also suiting up in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic or Mexico.
Gibson suffered a brain seizure on January 1, 1943, and spent the last four years of his life dealing with painful headaches. He died of a stroke on January 20, 1947 at the age of 35.
With the December 2020 announcement that the Negro Leagues would finally have their statistics included within Major League Baseball historic records, there's a chance Gibson could find himself atop the all-time batting average list, supplanting Ty Cobb. He's also certain to shake up the known hierarchy of all-time home run leaders with Barry Bonds currently atop that list with 762.
Building the Set
December 16, 2020 from Albion, NY
Within days of officially deciding to collect the Diamond Stars set, I found myself searching for the 1993 extension set consisting of 36 more "what if" cards this time issued by the Chicle Fantasy Company. Individual cards from this set are very prevalent on eBay, but I wanted to buy a complete set to save myself some time and money. Given this is a relatively modern set, I was somewhat surprised at the closing auction prices for previously sold complete sets and I was happy to win my set at a lower price. These cards are gorgeous, and I can tell a lot of hard work and love for the originals went into making this tribute set. What's more, the set's creators were smart enough to start the numbering with card #120, given the 1981 extension set had left off with #120. The final three cards in this set pay tribute to three Negro League greats, including Gibson. There are also cards of his Crawfords teammates, James "Cool Papa" Bell and Satchel Paige.
As I slowly collect the originals from the 1930s, I'll also highlight each of the cards from these extension sets with their own posts.
Variations Available
1 - 1993 / blue back / no statistics / 1993 copyright
The Card / Crawfords Team Set
I'm not that familiar with the logos of the Negro Leagues, and I had always assumed the Crawfords had worn red hats. A little bit of internet digging does show that the Crawfords did wear a navy blue hat with a white "C" in the early 1930s. The red hats must have come later.
The story on the back of the card tells of how Gibson was discovered during a game that took place on July 25, 1930. With the 1929 Negro League Champion Kansas City Monarchs in town, the Grays' regular catcher, Joe Williams, broke a finger and their back-up catcher, Vic Harris, was playing in the outfield. Gibson was asked to suit up for the Grays as an emergency substitute, and the rest, as they say, is history.
1936 Season
This was to be Gibson's last season with the Crawfords and his incomplete Baseball Reference statistics show he batted .451 for the season. His unofficial home run tally for the year was 84. He'd return to the Homestead Grays in 1937.
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Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1980-87 SSPC Hall of Fame #128
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0): N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2015 Topps Update Tape Measure Blasts #TMB-15
First mainstream card is fairly subjective here, as Gibson would have appeared on a Cooperstown Hall of Fame Plaque postcard beginning in 1972. He's also in the oddball 1974 Laughlin Old-Time Black Stars and 1976 Shakey's Pizza sets.
240 - Gibson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/23/20.
Sources:
Next Card: Negro League Stars #3 Satchel Paige - Pittsburgh Crawfords
Knew about the # of homers but not that he died at 35 :-(
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