Negro Leagues great Josh Gibson’s Hall of Fame plaque to be on display at PNC Park

Kevin Gorman | Friday, July 29, 2022 2:54 p.m.

Submitted

Josh Gibson is considered one of the greatest sluggers in baseball history.

Baseball fans will get to see Josh Gibson at PNC Park.

The Negro Leagues great’s Hall of Fame bronze plaque will be on display for fans for games against the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 3-4, as well as a luncheon for the Josh Gibson Foundational on Aug. 5, as it makes a rare appearance away from the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Plaque Gallery in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Fans will be able to take photos with the plaque of Gibson, who starred as a power-hitting catcher for the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays in the 1930s and ‘40s.

Gibson led the Negro National League in home runs 11 times in his 12 full seasons from 1933-46. A .374 lifetime hitter, Gibson also led the league in RBIs seven times. He is often credited with hitting more than 800 home runs over his career, which included numerous barnstorming stops and games in the Mexican League. Gibson died Jan 20, 1947, just months before Jackie Robinson integrated the National League.

While Gibson’s plaque is away from Cooperstown from Aug. 2-8, a photographic image of the plaque will be featured in the space, featuring a full replication of the plaque.