1942 Negro Leagues World Series Bobblehead featuring Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson unveiled
Share this post:
It was a scene reminiscent of Babe Ruth calling his home run against the Chicago Cubs in the 1932 World Series at Wrigley Field. Except that it happened in the Negro Leagues World Series, 10 years later.
The setting was Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, which hosted Game 2 of the 1942 Negro Leagues World Series, featuring slugger Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays and pitcher Satchel Paige of the Kansas City Monarchs. They were arguably the two best players not only in the Negro Leagues but in any league.
In the late innings, Gibson came up to bat to face Paige. The game was on the line. Paige claimed he had intentionally walked two batters so he could face Gibson with the bases loaded. However, as many people dispute whether Babe Ruth actually indicated he was going to hit that home run, there are those who doubt Paige’s version of events.
Went back to the wall that remains from Forbes Field which was the site of Game Two of the 1942 Negro Leagues World Series between Josh Gibson's Homestead Grays and Satchel Paige's Kansas City Monarchs. pic.twitter.com/3ebzYdZd11
— Paul Guggenheimer (@PGuggenheimer) October 25, 2020
But everyone seems to agree on one point: Paige trash-talked Gibson from the moment he stepped up to the plate, telling him what pitch he was going to throw and where he was going to throw it. Gibson ended up striking out on three pitches.
The meeting of these two Hall of Famers in the 1942 Negro Leagues World Series is now commemorated in an officially licensed, limited edition bobblehead, featuring both Paige and Gibson.
The bobblehead is based on a famous photo of the two taken at the World Series, which was later made into a painting by Graig Kreindler. Unveiled this week by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum and produced in conjunction with the Negro League Baseball Museum, it’s the latest in a series commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues.
“It’s the ultimate matchup, great pitching versus great hitting,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City. “This is what you live for. When you start talking about Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige, you’re talking about two of the greatest baseball players to ever do their thing. There was no more star power surrounding anyone as much as these guys.”
The bobblehead base says “1942 Negro Leagues World Series” and has the names of both players on the sides. Each bobblehead is individually numbered to 1,942, and they are available through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s online store and NegroLeaguesHistory.com
Phil Sklar, co-founder and CEO of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, said this is the first time a bobblehead has been created to commemorate the Negro Leagues World Series.
“This is a great way to educate people and keep alive the memory and the legacy of the players and everything they stood for,” Sklar said. “With 2020 also having so many different conversations about racial equality and injustices, this fits in really well. A lot of people today, kids in school learning about these topics, might not know that Black players couldn’t play on the same field with white players.”
Major League Baseball’s color barrier wasn’t broken until Jackie Robinson debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. The following year, Paige, at age 42, made his big-league debut with the Cleveland Indians. Also in 1948, Paige became the first player who had played in the Negro Leagues to pitch in the Major League World Series, which the Indians won.
Gibson was not as fortunate. He died in Pittsburgh in January 1947 without ever getting the opportunity to play on baseball’s biggest stage, despite being considered the greatest hitter and catcher in Negro Leagues history.
“It makes you wonder ‘what if?’ ” Kendrick said. “What if Josh had gotten to the Major Leagues in his prime? He died the same year that Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier. Gibson was 35 that year so he’s just a shell of himself, but that still means that he’s probably better than 80% of the guys who played in the Major Leagues.
“I hope that a series of bobbleheads being issued like this helps people embrace how special the Negro Leagues were.”