Josh
Gibson

ABOUT JOSH GIBSON

Josh Gibson was born on December 21, 1911, in Buena Vista, Georgia, and became one of the greatest hitters in baseball history during the 1930s and 1940s in the Negro Leagues. He became a professional by accident on July 25, 1930 while sitting in the stands, when Homestead Grays catcher Buck Ewing injured his hand and Gibson was invited to replace him because his titanic home runs were already well known in Pittsburgh. He spent much of his career with the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords and counted Buck Leonard and Satchel Paige among his teammates. In 1937, he batted .462 to lead the NNL by 79 points. He died of a stroke at age 35 in January 1947, mere months before Jackie Robinson broke the AL/NL color barrier. In 1972, he became the second Negro leagues player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Gibson appears as card 88 in the 2026 Panini Prizm Baseball set as a member of the Homestead Grays. The single base card honors one of the Negro Leagues' most legendary power hitters in Panini's signature chromium format.