Baseball produced many diamonds, but only one Josh Gibson
How a Pittsburgh foundation is giving Negro League players overdue recognition
First published in Pittsburgh City Paper, August 10, 2022. By Sylvia Rhor Samaniego
When Ernest “Pud” Gooden died in 1934, The Pittsburgh Courier lamented the loss of “one of the greatest young ball players that the Pittsburgh district ever produced.” The paper eulogized “that prince of Goodfellows” whose “sinewy arm could throw with the accuracy of a rifle” and whose “hawk-like eyes could solve the cleverest pitchers’ most deceptive deliveries.”
Gooden played ball for the biggest teams in the Negro Leagues, including Pittsburgh’s Homestead Grays, the Toledo Tigers, and the Detroit Stars.
But if you were to make a pilgrimage to Gooden’s grave today, you would be hard-pressed to find a place to lay a baseball in honor of this sports legend. Gooden is buried in an unmarked plot in Monongahela Cemetery.
The same is true of Sam “Lefty” Streeter, who Satchel Paige called the best pitcher he had ever known, as well as Emmett “Scotty” Bowman, the one-time Philadelphia Giant who pitched in the sandlots and barnstormed with the best. Their names shared rosters with the greats — Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, and Cool Papa Bell. But despite their fame, Streeter, Bowman, and dozens of other Negro Leaguers are buried in cemeteries throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania, with no markers to tell us their names, much less their stories.
The Josh Gibson Foundation wants to right this wrong.
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Sean Gibson wants to honor his great grandfather’s legacy with renaming of MVP awards
A push to recognize the statistics of Black players from baseball’s era of apartheid
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Local artist to paint Gibson mural in Homestead
Why the MVP award should be renamed after Negro Leagues great Josh Gibson
Equality was never the goal
Josh Gibson dominated. He was 6’ 1” 210 pounds of athleticism, agility and had a cannon for an arm. He froze opposing base runners as a catcher, but his best work didn’t come behind the plate. .371 batting average. 12x all-star. 2x Negro World Series champion (1943, 1944), 3x Negro National League batting champion. 2x Triple Crown. 831 hits. 171 home runs including an absolute rocket that left Yankee Stadium. Baseball’s most well-known legends regard Josh Gibson in a class of his own.
His Legacy Lives On
Every winning clubhouse has a veteran teaching younger players how to win. That inspired us to mentor young males in Langley both one-on-one and in a group setting. The Boys to Men Mentoring Program empowers at-risk youth and steers them toward positive life choices to maximize their potential.
We’re expanding educational and career opportunities for youth and families from communities of color. The Chuck Cooper and Josh Gibson Center for Equity and Education at Point Park University offers workshops, mentoring, and connections with community, business, and faculty leaders.
Sparking curiosity through hands-on learning. The Josh Gibson Foundation’s STEAM program provides Pittsburgh Classical Academy boys in grades 6–8 with opportunities to build essential skills in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.
You look legendary
IYKYK. And when you sport anything from our collection, you can help us enlighten other people about Josh’s legacy too.
May the best one win
Major League Baseball’s MVP award celebrates its most valuable player in the American League and the National League. Not the most valuable left handed player. Not the most valuable player with blue eyes. The most valuable player. Period. Full stop. Our foundation seeks to rename this award after Josh Gibson who was a legendary player excluded from competing in the major leagues. This change would honor the legacy of all Negro League players.
They left their mark on the game.
Now it’s our turn
We’re on a mission to honor the memory of 25 late Pittsburgh-area Negro Leagues players buried in unmarked graves. To date, we’ve rallied enough support to properly identify the graves of 13 players. Five more are in process. We’re close to making this goal a reality, but there’s still work to be done.
