Josh Gibson Foundation reschedules Negro League celebration events

Supporters and those involved with preserving the legacy of Negro Leagues baseball have learned to be patient.

After all, they waited many decades, until just last year, before MLB commissioner Rob Manfred bestowed major league status upon seven professional Negro Leagues that operated between 1920 and 1948. It means the records of great Black players such as Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige will stand alongside those of white players who set their marks when Black players were banned from the American and National Leagues.

So, waiting a year to celebrate the Negro Leagues’ centennial, while inconvenient, doesn’t seem like too big of a deal.

The 100^th anniversary was to have been observed in 2020, but the pandemic wiped out an entire slate of events. So, on Tuesday, Negro Leagues historian and author Rob Ruck moderated an event announcing an updated schedule of the Josh Gibson Foundation’s 2021 celebration events. It’s about “finishing what we started,” said Ruck, a University of Pittsburgh history professor.

Of paramount importance was rescheduling the Josh Gibson Youth Baseball Classic. The foundation is partnering with the Pittsburgh Housing Authority to hold the event in June. However, depending on what happens with the pandemic, the event could be moved to August, according to Sean Gibson, executive director of the Josh Gibson Foundation and great-grandson of Josh Gibson.

“We had a rough year last year due to the pandemic,” Gibson said. “We’re very excited to get back those inner-city kids to provide them with some education, not just about Josh Gibson, but all the other great teams and players throughout the Negro Leagues.”

There also will be a Negro Leagues symposium Oct. 29 at Duquesne University and a black tie gala Oct. 30 with a soon-to-be-named major league star as a guest speaker.

Dollar Bank is the Negro Leagues Celebration presenting sponsor and a partner of the Josh Gibson Foundation.

Sean Gibson said a big push is being made this year to have MLB’s MVP awards named after Josh Gibson, who reportedly is one of three finalists for renaming the award. The other two are Branch Rickey, the former Dodgers general manager who was instrumental in breaking MLB’s color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson, and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson.

Because 2021 marks the 50^th anniversary of the Pirates fielding MLB’s first all-Black starting lineup, outfielder/first baseman Al Oliver, an integral part of that lineup and the 1971 World Championship team, will play a prominent role in the Negro Leagues celebration.

Oliver, a seven-time All-Star and 1982 National League batting champion and RBI leader, will host the Josh Gibson Classic and share stories about the historic ’71 Pirates team. He said the inclusion of Negro Leagues statistics as part of MLB’s overall records was long overdue.

“When I heard that, it was a good feeling. It made me feel very humble. I thought I had a great career, but when I started hearing the stats of the great Negro Leagues players, I said, ‘Well, finally they have evened the landscape,’ ” Oliver said. “When you truly deserve something, you should get it. I’m just glad that baseball has come to its senses and realized it wasn’t (the Black players’) fault. These are the guys who set the tone and the tempo for guys like myself.”