Results tagged ‘ josh gibson ’

My Negro League All Star Lineup

CF    James “Cool Papa” Bell

3B    Judy Johnson

2B    Jackie Robinson

C      Josh Gibson

DH    Roy Campanella

1B    Buck O’Neill

RF    Buck Leonard

LF     Monte Irvin

SS    Willie Wells

P    Satchel Paige

P    Rube Foster

My Take on Josh Gibson

   Personally, I think that Josh Gibson was and is the most underrated athlete in the history of sports.  And it’s basically because of his color.  The “Black Babe Ruth” was, in my mind, the greatest baseball player ever.

  

   I have come to wonder why they ever came to call him the “Black Babe Ruth.”  I mean, looking at the numbers, he was better than Babe Ruth.  862 home runs compared to 714…  Wow.  That’s all I can say.  Maybe they should be calling Ruth the “White Josh Gibson.”

   Although the precise home run total is unknown, Gibson did hit around 150 more homers than Ruth at a very difficult position to play (believe me, I play catcher), plus he owns a career batting average of .373 and a Negro League single season home run record of 84.  That makes the Sultan of Swat look just not so impressive.

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