V4701

Negro Leagues Baseball

Play at the Plate

Josh Gibson - Catcher

Collins Cover Announcement 

Negro Leagues Baseball

Josh Gibsom

Sport historians consider Joshua Gibson to be one of the elite catchers and power hitters in baseball history. He was elected to Cooperstown's Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. Gibson caught in the Negro League for the Homestead Grays in 1930 and 1931 before going to the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1932 to 1936. He then returned to the Grays Pnd had a stellar career with them until 1946.

Josh was known as the "black Babe Ruth." According to Hall of Fame statistics, he hit almost 800 home runs in his 17-year career against Negro League and independent baseball opposition. The Hall lists his lifetime batting average as .359. While playing for the Grays and Crawfords, he won nine home run titles and four batting championships. Since complete statistics and game summaries were not compiled for Negro League games, actual achievements cannot be verified. Suffice it to, say, Josh Gibson was a superior athlete, and it's a shame he never got the opportunity to compete on the Major League level.

My individually hand painted cachet shows Gibson in his catching gear. Assorted Negro League team logos are also shown, which will be a nice element on the Collins cachets for this issue. The stamp on this cover is a beauty as the action depicts a player safely sliding into home plate ahead of the ball. All in all, this is a wonderful baseball First Day Cover, and I'm very pleased to offer the watercolor portrait of Hall of Famer Josh Gibson. Collins #V4701 — $14.00.