Ryan Howard | Josh Gibson – The Greatest Slugger of All-Time

Black Diamonds

SiriusXM

History, Baseball, Black History, Sports, Negro Leagues, Documentary, Equality, Society & Culture, Civil Rights

4.8 • 617 Ratings

🗓️ 4 September 2024

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Bob Kendrick discusses the epic feats of baseball’s greatest power hitter, Josh Gibson. Hall of Famers Ted Williams, Satchel Paige and Roy Campanella all testified to his incredible ability. His peers recalled Gibson’s home runs as if they were measured in miles, not feet. A larger than life figure, Gibson was often compared to Babe Ruth, with some even calling Ruth – “The White Josh Gibson.” Hear about his prodigious power, the rarity of a catcher employing a five-tool skill set and how his life ended far too soon. NL MVP Ryan Howard joins the conversation to reflect on Gibson’s legacy and place in the baseball record book.

Transcript

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0:00.0	He hit a ball with so much ease.
0:09.7	Warren, Ohio, he hit a ball so far that they called a game.
0:13.2	And the mayor went out there and got a tape and tried to get how far he hit it.
0:23.4	Well, for decades, I've been saying that Josh Gibson, in my own opinion, was the greatest baseball player of all time.
0:36.9	What Gibson was able to do as a catcher,
0:41.7	he was a great defensive catcher,
0:45.9	and then put up the offensive numbers that he put up,
0:52.4	that have now been verified through the work of a dream team of Negro
0:58.8	League historians. And when I say that these numbers sound like they come straight out of a
1:04.7	video game, well, because Josh Gibson was just added to the video game MLB the show.
1:13.5	And so these numbers that I'm going to run off for you guys,
1:17.2	the kids who played this video game, they were not surprised to see and learn that Josh Gibson was at top of a number of offensive statistical categories after Major League
1:32.3	Baseball rolled into the annals of its record books, the statistics of the Negro
1:39.1	leagues.
1:40.3	The 12-time All-Star, two-time Negro League World Series champion,
1:46.0	three-time Negro National League batting champion,
1:49.6	and back-to-back triple crowds.
1:53.4	Let me say that again.
1:55.4	Back-to-back triple crowns.
1:58.8	The only other player to do that, the great Oscar Charleston, whom Buck O'Neill thought
2:06.3	was the greatest baseball player he ever saw. But if there was a five-tool catcher, it would be
2:14.7	Josh Gibson. And I love taking guests on a tour of the Negro League's baseball museum.
	...

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