Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard never got a shot in the major leagues. But in August 1972, they became the first exclusively Negro League players inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
At that meeting, Leonard recalled, Griffith mentioned the campaign by Black sportswriters to put them on the Senators roster, and said, “Well, let me tell you something: If we get you boys, we’re going to get the best ones. It’s going to break up your league. Now what do you think of that?”
Leonard said they replied that they’d be happy to play in the major leagues, but would leave it to others to make the case. According to Holway, the duo never heard from Griffith again.to remove former commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis’s name from MVP plaques. There were no Black players in the major leagues during his long tenure as the sport’s first commissioner, from 1920 to 1944.
Sean Gibson said that his grandfather, who accepted the Hall of Fame plaque for Josh Gibson, always credited Boston Red Sox star Ted Williams for opening the door to players such as Gibson to make the Hall. In his 1966 , Williams said, “I hope that someday the names of Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson in some way could be added as a symbol of the great Negro players that are not here only because they were not given a chance.”“Five years later, Satch goes in in ’71,” Gibson noted. “The next year, ‘72, is Josh. My grandfather always gave Ted Williams credit, because he feels if Ted Williams does not mention Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige in his speech, he doesn’t know if that happens that fast.
Gibson said he that he thinks that Williams’s background — his mother was Mexican American — helped him feel compassion for Negro League players. Another factor was Williams seeing Black players during barnstorming games against Negro Leaguers.“Ted spoke up; nobody else spoke up,” he added. “So we’re very grateful for that. His speech was only like three minutes long. And for him to include that small piece of the pie, of Josh and Satch, was huge for us.
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