Gibson's batting feats were mythical, his power was legendary. His stroke blended the power of a piston with the smoothness of a cue ball. He was the king of swing, he mastered the masters, from Ruth to Reggie.

"There's a couple of million dollars worth of baseball talent on the loose, ready for the big leagues, yet unsigned by any major league. There are pitchers who would win twenty games a season . . . and outfielders who could hit .350, infielders who could win recognition as stars, and there's at least one catcher who at this writing is probably superior to Bill Dickey --- Josh Gibson. Only one thing is keeping them out of the big leagues, the pigmentation of their skin." wrote Shirley Povich of the Washington Post in 1941. Gibson was the product of Mark, a steelworker and Nancy Woodlock.He attended public school in Buena Vista, GA, before studying at the Allegheny Pre-Vocational School in Pittsburgh to learn the electrician trade. When he was seventeen, he married 18-year old Helen Mason, who died in labor, delivery their twins, Josh, Jr. and Helen.

His legendary career begins in 1927, with the semi-pro Pittsburgh Crawfords of Compton Hill. Three years later, while attending a Homestead Grays game, young Josh suddenly got his first chance at pro ball. The Grays catcher Buck Ewing had to leave the game with a split thumb. Some of the Grays players had seen Gibson played and asked him to take Ewing's place behind the plate. Unpolished as a catcher, but country boy strong, he made a lasting impression on the Grays and the host team, Kansas City Monarchs. He stayed with the Grays for two seasons (1930-31) and jumped to flash of cash from Gus Greenlee, to play for the cross town rival Crawfords. He won home run titles in 1932, 34 and 36, while wearing Crawford red. Gibson rejoined the Grays and Buck Leonard in 1937. The '37 edition of the Grays split their home games between Washington DC and Pittsburgh. Before the season ended, Gibson along with several teammates ran off to play for the Santo Domingo dictator, Rafael Trujillo. The 1937 edition of the was stacked with superstars of the Negro Leagues: Bell, Paige and others. Held under armed guard, they won the championship and Trujillo won reelection.

Gibson returned to the Homestead Grays and picked up where he left off. He won home run crowns in 1938 and 1939, and his first batting title in 1938 with a magnifying .440. Noted for his long distance drives, teammate Buck Leonard responded, "Nobody hit the ball as far as Gibson." Leonard added, "I didn't see the one he is supposed to have hit out of Yankee Stadium. But I saw him hit a ball one night in the Polo Grounds that went between the upper deck and lower deck and out of the stadium. Later the night watchman came in and said, 'Who hit the damned ball out there?' He said it landed on the El. It must have gone 600 feet." Gibson played briefly in Mexico and Puerto Rico, winning the Puerto Rican batting title in 1941 with an incredible .480 average and was named their Most Valuable Player. After becoming very ill in Mexico, he returned to the Grays in 1942. Despite intermittent health problems, Gibson won home runs crowns in 1942, 43 and 46, plus a batting title in 1943, hitting .521.

Gibson didn't just destroy Negro League pitchers, he also beat up on white major leaguers. In a recorded 60 at bats against the likes of Dizzy and Daffy Dean, Johnny Vander Meer and others, Josh hit .426, including five home runs. His bat was an equal opportunity banger.

Monte Irvin recalls a day in the life of a Josh bashing. "On opening day in Newark of 1941, we were leading the Grays 2-0 in the ninth inning with two outs. Jimmy Hill walked Sam Bankhead and Buck Leonard with Josh Gibson coming up. Leon Day was in the bullpen. He got two quick strikes on Josh and tried to slip the third one by him. He hit it in the center field bleachers to beat us 3-2, before 22,000 disappointed fans. Mrs. Effa Manley after the game said to Josh, 'You should be ashamed of yourself for spoiling our opener.' Josh replied, 'Mrs. Manley I break hearts all over the country every summer. If you don't believe me just ask any pitcher.'"

Breaking hearts was Gibson's business. In 1943, the unromantic Josh hit ten home runs out of spacious Griffith Stadium, a feat never duplicated by any major leaguer. In fact, his ten homers were more than all the bangers in the American League could hit in 77 games that year. And the back wall of the left field bleachers was cleared only three times. Mickey Mantle did it, with a tape measured 565 foot blast and Josh did it twice. With a confident countenance beneath a turned-up cap bill and a rolled-up left sleeve, displaying his powerful arm muscles, Gibson's presence in the batters box personified power. He awaited the pitch in a semi-crouched, flat-footed stance, and without striding generated a compact swing that produced tape-measure home runs with such regularity that it came to be expected as the norm. Credited with 962 home runs in his 17 year career, he also compiled a .391 lifetime batting average in the Negro Leagues. In addition to his slugging prowess, Gibson possessed a rifle arm and, by hard work behind the plate, made himself into one of the best receivers in the league. For a big man, he was quick behind the plate and also on the bases, and was a good baserunner. Always affable and easy going, Gibson was well liked and respected by his peers, His popularity extended to the fans, and he was votged to start in nine East-West All-Star games, in which he compiled a sensational .483 batting average. Considering Gibson played the majority of his career in Forbes Field (center field 457 ft.) and Griffith Stadium (421 in center), his home run totals could have been higher had he played in some of the band boxes in the league.

Max Manning, former ace of the Newark Eagles pitching staff recalled: "I never saw Josh take a leaving-the-ground swing. It was always a smooth, quick stroke. A lot of guys would swing, the ground would shake, the air would move, and their hats would fly off. But he'd just take that short, quick stroke, and that ball would leave any ballpark." Gibson was the ultimate hitter. He hit with power, for a high average and seldom struck out. He was a blue-collar slugger without the glitz and glamour of his major league counterparts. Gibson was simply known as Josh -- no nicknames, no monikers, no labels. He was just the "Home Run Dundee" of baseball, who bull-whipped pitchers with a mighty swing of authority.

In late 1942, Gibson begun to suffer from recurring headaches and dizzy spells. On New Year's Day of 1943, he was hospitalized for ten days, after doctors discovered a brain tumor. The man-child Josh refused to allow an operation. He returned to baseball, while the headaches and blackouts continued, eventually eroding his mythical skills. Gibson died at the age of 35. He was buried in Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh, PA.

Gibson will be the eternal monarch of home run kings. He dominated the game with majestic power like none before him. Former Crawford teammate Judy Johnson boasted, "If Josh Gibson had been in the big leagues in his prime, Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron would still be chasing him for the home run record."