Original Slugger

Josh Gibson is probably the greatest baseball of all time, but you most likely won’t have heard of him. He played for the Homestead Grays from Pittsburgh and even though he had  brief spells playing in Puerto Rico and Mexico he remained in that city for most of his career.

Hitting 800 home runs and being widely regarded as one of the best catchers of all time, Gibson represented hope for a whole generation of Black Americans. Although he never lived long enough to see Jackie Robinson take to the plate as the first Black American to play in the Major Leagues (dying three months before this event at the tender age of just 35) he inspired players of all colours with his compact and powerful swing.

Barry Bonds and Jackie Robinson both refer to him as a huge influence on their lives and is still widely regarded as the “Black Babe Ruth.”

We here at TRiCKETT like Mr. Gibson as often it is the people that don’t get the praise and quietly go about their business that inspire us. We also happen to love that picture of him too. So next time you pick up your slugger to hit a burglar with, swing your wiffle bat hopelessly or Hit one into the stand as Pujols on MLB 2012 remember Josh. We always do.