October 11, 2024 • 28 mins
Nimene learns about Josh Gibson, the greatest power hitter baseball has ever seen and Broadway star Fergie L. Philippe breaks it down in a brand new hip-hop track. Featuring an interview between Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and a 10 year old baseball enthusiast named Payton.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey listeners, Niminy here, host of historical records. Get ready
to hear about a historical hero through hip hop although
parents and teachers. You can download a free activity related
to today's episode by visiting story pirates dot com slash
historical records, and now onto the show. After a few
(00:22):
words for the grown ups, keep digging raccoons.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I know it's out here somewhere.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Ugh, Hey listeners, Niminy here outside my secret underground layer
looking for a time capsule that I buried over ten
years ago and has all kinds of special items from
my childhood that I cannot wait to tell you about.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Tanna, did you find it yet? How's it going over there?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I agree?
Speaker 1 (00:55):
The ground is way too hard for these shovels. You
have a jackhammer, Tina, you buried the lead.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Let's get that thing up and run it. This is great.
We're gonna find my time capsule in no time.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
This way, Tina, No, no, no, no.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Not that way. Where are you going now.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Here?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Let me try. I appreciate the warning.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
But I'll be fine. You might be a little too
small to run this jackhammer properly. I'll just hop on
and then wh.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
Why am I going this last?
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Why am I going that way?
Speaker 5 (01:38):
Now?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Where am I? Godway?
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Well, that jackhammer clearly didn't work right, and we still
haven't found my time capsule.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
What Tina, you have a bobcat digger.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Go get it.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Why were we using shovels in a jackhammer? We're gonna
find this thing.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
No time historical records. You are now listening to historical.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
To make history, you got to have struggles to make history.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
You got to show poised, cannot be quiet, loud as
a riot to make history.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
You gotta make some noise, incredible. Dig right here, Tina.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
I know I've said this before, but I've said of
this as the spot.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
We hit the time capsule.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Now dig around it.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I didn't.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
I'm not my time capsule, and I dug it out there.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Point Tina, you did play a critical role.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Now, Listeners, you may be wondering, what does Niminy have
in this time capsule that is so important that it's
delaying the start of this episode, an episode in which
we are going to learn about the Great Baseball Legend
Josh Gibson. Excellent question, Listeners, to answer it, Let's first
drag my time capsule out.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Of this hole. Among the many.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Things I am excited to show you. First up is
a red cape that I wore pretty much every day
for nearly two years when I was a kid, and
opening the look with the key I always keep around
my neck. You see, I wanted to be a superhero,
so my red cape was critical.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Every good superhero needs a good red cape. Opening the latch. Wait,
what it's green? My superhero cape is green? How is
that possible? I was certain it was red.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
You know that is so strange.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Surely the next thing in my time capsule will match
my memory. After all, I have a fantastic memory.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
You don't know that I see it. The green looks fantastic.
This cape is even cooler than I realized. What is it? Tina?
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Right, of course we probably should get started with the
episode listeners. We'll get back to going through my time
caps a little little later. There's a lot in here
you're gonna want to see. But right now, we got
to dive into today's historical figure, Josh Gibson. And in
order to do that, we have to find our historian
friend Gabe whoa that might be the biggest construction vehicle
(04:27):
I have ever seen it's a giant excavator.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Who is driving that thing incoming? Watch out?
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Everybody? Wait? Is that Gabe? Game? Is that job?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Hey nimany I can barely see you up there.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Come on up, you can use the ladder.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Oh wow, yep, okay here come ohoa, we are really
high up.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Hey, Gabe, there you are. What are you doing with
this huge thing?
Speaker 6 (04:53):
I heard you needed some help digging, so I brought
my personal digging machine to help.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
H I actually found I was looking for And did
you say that this commercial machine typically used to dig
out massive.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Minds, is yours?
Speaker 4 (05:07):
That is correct?
Speaker 6 (05:08):
You see, being a historian and getting the history right
often takes a little digging, sometimes literally.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
That makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 6 (05:17):
Speaking of digging, should we dig into the life of
the great Josh Gibson?
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Okay? But Gabe, before we go back in time, can
I be honest?
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Please?
Speaker 4 (05:26):
I actually prefer that you be honest, respectfully.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
I really don't like that the history simulator looks and
feels and sounds like a gooey alien pod.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
It's very uncomfortable to be it.
Speaker 6 (05:37):
I couldn't agree more, which is why I built my
own history simulator.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
You did no way where was it?
Speaker 4 (05:43):
We're sitting in it. Welcome to the History Excavator, nineteen twenty.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I I love it.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Very impressive, you said, History Excavator nineteen twenty.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Why nineteen twenty?
Speaker 6 (05:57):
Oh, that's just where we're headed today. Hold on, niminy,
A Roaring twenties.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Here we come.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
It's so gay.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
This is about one hundred years.
Speaker 6 (06:10):
Ago, right nearly to the day, and it was a
time of incredible change in the United States.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Hey, look at those cool ladies with short bob haircuts
and just below the knee linked dresses.
Speaker 7 (06:21):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (06:22):
Yes, those ladies were known as flappers at the time.
These dresses were considered by many to be scandalous for
being too short.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Too short. They look like formal dresses to me. I
guess we really have come a long way or a
short way. I don't know who.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Check Out that guy wailing on the saxophone.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
Pretty amazing.
Speaker 6 (06:44):
Right in the nineteen twenties, there was an explosion of
music exploration, including the birth of jazz.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Oh and look at that group of men with those
ridiculous pinstriped suits.
Speaker 6 (06:55):
They look away, niminy, be careful, those men are very serious.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
In fact, they might be gangsters.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Gabe.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
You really shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Just because those guys look like cartoon mobsters doesn't mean
they are.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
I bet they have a great sense of humor too.
Watch this, hey, sir, your suit is hysterical.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
You look like a businessman doing an impression of a zebra.
Speaker 8 (07:21):
I you think I'm funny, You think my suitors are
joke usink I'm a zebra business clownd sent from the Zuda.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Make your laugh. No, no, no, none of that. It's
a very fetching outfit.
Speaker 6 (07:31):
And we have to go, Gaby, hit it here we
go down to the south.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
True, I was close, Gabe.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Sorry for not trusting your instincts about who is and
who is in a gangster.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Anyway, thanks for getting us out of there.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Speaking of getting out of there, Gabe, always see our
black families packing their things and getting out of town.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
It was known as the Great Migration.
Speaker 6 (07:58):
Lots of black folks were moving from the rural south
to cities in the north with the promise of safer communities,
better jobs, more pay, and a brighter future.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
And once they got to the north, where would they work.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Let's head to the north. Here we are in the North.
Speaker 6 (08:15):
Often black folks would work in steel factories like that
one in cities like this one Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Look over their gabe a department store. Can we go in?
I want to buy one of those flapper dresses.
Speaker 6 (08:27):
It's not just any department store. It's Gimbals, which is
where Josh Gibson worked.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Cool.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Let's head through the revolving doors and check it out.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Oh mah, there are.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
A head spinning amount of flapper dress options. Too many
options actually, and suddenly I have no interest in shopping. Hey,
did you say Josh Gibson works here?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
I thought he was a baseball player.
Speaker 6 (08:51):
He was, but when his family first moved to the North,
he wanted to be an electrician. I know it sounds weird,
but electricity was still considered a fairly new technology, so
it was a great trade to get into. And he
started as an elevator operator at Gimbals.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Gabe.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Sorry to interrupt, but who's that teenager over by the
old timey elevator.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
That's actually Josh Gibson.
Speaker 6 (09:14):
He takes people up and down to different floors in
the store.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Oh, of course, an elevator operator.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Got it.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
But how does he transition from this to baseball.
Speaker 6 (09:25):
Well, this department store doesn't just have an irresponsible amount
of flapper dress options.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
They also have an amateur baseball team.
Speaker 6 (09:33):
They do, yeah, they do, and it's called the gimbal Ac.
And that's how Josh Gibson started playing baseball.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
He was only sixteen though.
Speaker 6 (09:42):
That's true, but he took to the sport like a
fish to water. Josh knew how to keep his eye
on the ball and slam.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
Crack knock it out of the park.
Speaker 6 (09:51):
He was a home run king and in no time
at all, other local teams were eyeing this young prospect.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
So did he quit his job to play baseball?
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Not yet.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
He kept his job at the department store while playing baseball.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
He had to keep that job to make ends meet.
Speaker 6 (10:07):
You see, at the time, there was a different league
for black players. It was known as the Negro League,
and Josh played for a less official Negro League team,
kind of like the minor leagues today.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
And did he eventually go pro?
Speaker 4 (10:21):
You bet.
Speaker 6 (10:22):
His name and his fame grew and he eventually was
able to go professional, but it was almost by accident.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
That sounds like an interesting.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Story, It is.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
Hold tight, We're headed to the game where it all happened.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Gabe, we might be at the wrong baseball game. I
don't see Josh Gibson anywhere on the field.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
That's because he was in the stands.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
The stands, so he wasn't playing.
Speaker 6 (10:52):
Yeah, it's nineteen thirty and Josh is still playing in
the less official leagues.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
But he was at this major league game as a fan.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
I see him up there in the stands.
Speaker 6 (11:02):
Josh and everyone else and then stadium was watching the
Homestead Grays, the best Pittsburgh team in the Negro League.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Gape, there are some seats open right behind Josh. Let's
watch the game from there.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
Perfect. Hey, where'd you get all that food.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
At the concession stand, Gabe Warehouse, dontorry. I got you
a hot dog, some peanuts, some nacho's, a cotton candy.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
And a large drink.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
Oh, thank you.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Here are seats.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
This is a lot of food.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
The batter is up and I can barely hear the
announcer over your chomping.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
And here comes the bitch in a miss.
Speaker 9 (11:37):
But oh, something's wrong with buck ewing the catch up
with the Graves.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
He seems to cut the pinch in the wrong way.
And injured his hand, and I'm.
Speaker 9 (11:44):
Pretty sure he's about to start screaming, ouch my hand,
I'm hurt and I can no longer play baseball today.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
Och Well, buck you instead of game his day.
Speaker 9 (11:55):
He is done playing baseball bart today and possibly tomorrow
and the next day and probably the day after that.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Of I'm being honest the way he said out, who
knows what buccle play next?
Speaker 6 (12:04):
Mmmm, niminy, This cotton candy is amazing, Gabe.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Please, I'm trying to watch the game and buck Ewing
is out making eggs.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
Even worse, the Grays have no backup catcher.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
What are they going to do?
Speaker 2 (12:17):
No backup catcher? Well, you can't play baseball without a catcher.
Everyone knows that.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Wait.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
The coach for the Grays is walking toward us.
Speaker 6 (12:25):
That's because there's an eighteen year old sitting in the
stands right in front of us that has the reputation
of being one of the best hitters in Pittsburgh, Josh Gibson.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
The coach is asking him to play.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
And Josh is saying yes.
Speaker 9 (12:41):
I actually can't believe what I'm saying. The Grays seem
to have plucked some kid out of the stands and
now he's going to play catcher.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
And this kid's even play.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Gabe, I can't believe this is how Josh Gibson got
his big break.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Fortune favors the prepared niminy.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Oh, of course it does. Why do you think I'm
so many snacks? So did he play well in the game.
Speaker 6 (13:03):
Josh had such an incredible game that afterwards the Grays
took him on as a full time member of the team.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Josh Gibson is up the bat, and he traveled the
country playing baseball.
Speaker 6 (13:14):
And here's the bitch.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
He can acts going coming, got.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
Job, gets it absolute places fashion Harry Cleveland for that,
ballsad it out of town.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Games. What an incredible start to a career. What were
Josh's career stats like?
Speaker 6 (13:32):
Well, unfortunately, Josh played in a time when black athletes
didn't have all of their games recorded like the professional
white teams of the day.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
What so they don't know how many home runs he hit.
Speaker 6 (13:45):
They have a decent idea. It's believed that he hit
over eight hundred home runs, and two hundred and twenty
four of those were against the top Negro league teams.
That's incredible, truly, But so much of Josh Gibson's story
is tall tales and legends.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
You remember that ball that he smashed in Cleveland?
Speaker 6 (14:06):
Yeah, well some say it landed in Cincinnati the next day.
Speaker 10 (14:10):
Wow.
Speaker 6 (14:11):
And when history is a little hazy, some of the
stories burn brighter than others.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
Like the legend of what happened in Yankee Stadium?
Speaker 2 (14:19):
What happened in Yankee Stadium.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Let's go watch.
Speaker 6 (14:25):
Welcome to nineteen thirty four left field, Yankee Stadium.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Oh, look, Josh is up at the plate.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
Then we're right on time.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
There goes the pit and Josh takes up big cut.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Oh he got a hold of that.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
He's the lad that thing.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
The ball is flying to a left field that's going
up in the third deck next to the left field
pull Pennant a home.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Leaving the stadium.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Goodness, Christ, just the great Josh Gibson has done it.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Now he is responsible for the only fair ball ever
to be a fully out of Yankee Stadium.
Speaker 6 (14:57):
Nemony, I had no idea you were such a fantastic
baseball announcer.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
I'm a fast learner, I'll say.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
You know, Gabe, it's awesome that there are all these
amazing stories about Josh Gibson, but it's frustrating that his
stats weren't tracked the same way white players stats were.
Speaker 6 (15:14):
It's frustrating, all right, but even without stats, he lives
on forever in baseball history.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
That's how good he was.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
That's a neat way to think about it.
Speaker 6 (15:23):
Some people call Josh Gibson the black Babe Ruth.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Others call Babe Ruth the white Josh Gibson.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
I love that he ended his.
Speaker 6 (15:32):
Career as the second highest paid player in the Negro
League and was eventually inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
And I suppose today we are making a historical record
of Josh, so one hundred years later, he is still
being honored. His song won't include tons of statistics, obviously,
but it will be an earth shattering hip hop tune
that will never leave.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
You a head.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
Shall we head back then?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Please?
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Thanks Gabe, I got a.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
Run, Good luck, Niminy, swing for the fences.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
I always do, okay listening as a we're back, and
I am walking to the studio like Josh wakes from
the dugout to the play, excited, confident and ready to
make history.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Oh that was quick. Here we are at the studio.
Oh hey, Tina, are the musicians ready? Great time to
turn this piece of history into.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Music, featuring the incredible actor, rapper and singer Fergie l Philippe.
Speaker 4 (16:35):
Okay, here's a finured that Josh Gibson.
Speaker 9 (16:38):
I want to walk it off the map in a
long flame all the da field.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
Someone's going going and smash slam.
Speaker 5 (16:46):
Another one gone bash bam, Another one gone a crack
the bat, and another one gone a tip but the
cap because.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Another one gone.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
Wait tune twenty stand and six foot one.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Got a date at the plate.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
A big home run Bob pops off the state collect
the shot of a gun?
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Is the man?
Speaker 4 (17:00):
Is the legend? It is Josh good Son.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
He so dynamic, his hits titanic, his swings like magic.
See him coming from the dugout of the team might panic.
The crowd is ecstatic, the end of so tragic. First
we go back to where it all began. Born to
Georgia in the twenties, the great, my great Joan took
his family north into Pittsburgh, then, where Josh.
Speaker 4 (17:17):
Trained to be an electrician.
Speaker 5 (17:20):
And that's where he might have stayed fixing electronics solar's days,
But he got a job at a place where a
squad and Josh the field. The people were odd, want
to sharecroppers. But now he snare pop ups. He operated elevators.
Now he studied hitting hatters. That could be no imitators,
because I mean as an innovator and nobody great. He's
the baseball terminator. Lash slam, another one gone, bash spam,
another one gone.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
The craft good the bat and another one gone.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
A tip bud the captain is another one gone, another
one gone, another one gone, another one gone.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Here, another one gone. It's seventeen years.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
He had eight hundred home ones, three sixty average lifetime.
That ain't oh hum canning on fifty off the base
path fall fund if the Negro league, but the same
league with no one black Babe Ruth was off the description,
but many claimed the babe with the white Josh Gibson.
So if you have some wisdom, you see he's in
position to make the majors. But it's big men skin
his race. Biggots believe it dictates the sale of tickets.
They want him to stay in his place. Gibson handles
(18:17):
them mistakes with grace, always maintaining the smile upon his face.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
Keeps setting records, keeps.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Getting hits, falls into love, has a few kids places
around the world, from seed to seed. Still they never
let the man in the MLB smash Sam, another one gone,
bash bam, another one gone the craft, cut the bat,
and another one gone.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
A tip budd the cap because.
Speaker 5 (18:37):
Another one gone, another one gone, another one gone, Who
another one gone, Yeah, another one gone. When Josh Gibson
was thirty two, he started getting head aches, got.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Some X raised, then some bad news the next day.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
Kept playing for his hometown team, the Homestead Grace, But
four years later Josh gibbs and sadly passed away.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
There wasn't trus because of this, he'd be forgotten.
Speaker 5 (19:08):
But his game still alics It's hall and the monograts
will say his name, top twenty player from back then
to this year.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
Even though another one's gone, He's still here, Still here,
Still here, He's still here, even though one another was gone.
Speaker 9 (19:23):
He still here.
Speaker 5 (19:24):
Smash slam, another one gone, bash damn, another one gone to.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
Crack good back, and another one gone.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
A tip but a cat because another one's gone, another
one gone, hey, another one gone, another one gone, even
though another one was gone, And still here.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
We'll be right back after a few words for the
grown ups. Wow, that someone was amazing.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Also, there was a part of that tune that reminded
me of another object in my time capsule.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Listener, follow me to the giant fall in my backyard. Ah,
here we a Tina.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Do me a favor and dive into my time capsule
and grab the thing that looks like an old recording. Listeners,
the last thing I wanted to show you is a
recording of a speech I gave at my high school graduation. Now,
I'm pretty sure the speech was about history, but given
that I thought my superhero cape was green, maybe.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
I'm way off data.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
How are we looking fantastic, Tina, Let's play a little
bit of it and see what eighteen year old me
has to say.
Speaker 7 (20:39):
I imagine I speak for all of us today when
I say that these last four years have been a blur.
Lots of late nights, lots of early mornings, and plenty
of looking for my glasses only to find that they
were on my head the whole time. The truth is,
so much happened so quickly, it is sometimes hard to
parse through our memories of what happened and actually happened.
(21:01):
As the poet An Michael says it. Quote, history and
memory share events. That is, they share time and space.
Every moment is two moments.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
End quote.
Speaker 7 (21:11):
Well, I dare say that in these four years of
high school, we created memories and history.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
And now we carry them both proudly as we head
off into the world.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Ugh, I barely remember saying any of that. Thank you, Tina.
I guess it was a pretty good speech.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Honestly, there was a lot more to it than I remembered.
A lot like Josh Gibson's story. When I think about it,
he was probably a better baseball player than we even realized.
Maybe there's always more to the story than we can
remember or even write down.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Well, I could think about that for a long time.
Speaker 10 (21:47):
I can.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Yes, Tina, what is it? Okay? Yeah, I know I'm
late as usual.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Okay, listeners, let's raise to the room inside my secret
underground bunker where I take all my most important video calls,
boot up the.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Computer, the internets, and here we go. Hi, Bob and Peyton,
can you introduce yourself.
Speaker 10 (22:10):
Hi, my name is Bob Kendrick. I'm president of the
Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas, City, Missouri, the world's
only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history
of African American baseball and its profound impact on the
social advancement of America.
Speaker 8 (22:27):
Hi, I'm Peyton and I'm ten years old. I just
love baseball all year round.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
Peyton, what were you hoping to ask Bob about Josh Gibson?
Speaker 8 (22:40):
So, mister Kendrick, I'm wondering why did it take so
long for the Negro League players to get recognized as
some of the greatest players of all time?
Speaker 10 (22:49):
That is a great question. They toiled, I'd like to say,
in anonymity for so long, And I say that because
there were a lot of people who saw them play.
It just happened to be black. Later on, as we
get into the forties, before Jackie Robinson brace to color Arrea,
there were a lot of white fans who saw them
like too. But there are a lot of people who
(23:09):
still hold to the belief that if it didn't happen
in the major leagues, then it must not have happened.
And so we've been working so hard over the last
thirty years to make sure that people know who these
ballplayers were and how good they were and what they
contributed to the game, but just as important, what they
(23:32):
contributed to this country.
Speaker 8 (23:34):
Is it true Josh Gibson hit eight hundred home runs
in the Negro leagues.
Speaker 10 (23:40):
Honestly, Peyton, he probably hit more than that, and again
this was against all levels of competition, including the major leaguers.
I personally believe that Josh Gibson was the greatest hitter
this game has ever seen.
Speaker 8 (23:55):
I would like to see more minorities play baseball because
I'm kind of one of the only African American black
kids on my team.
Speaker 10 (24:03):
We understand that there are just not a lot of
black kids playing our game anymore. And the interesting thing
about that, Peyton, is baseball used to be our sport,
which is why we had a Negro league. You had
a league that was filled with black players and of
course some brown players because you had Hispanic. But after
(24:25):
baseball integrates and now Jackie Robinson and other black and
brown stars leave the Negro leagues to go into Major
League Baseball, that is what ultimately put the Negro leagues
out of this and then over time there became kind
of this separation, so to speak, from the African American
(24:46):
community and the game of baseball. It became very expensive
to play our sport. All the equipment is expensive, the
league fees are expensive. Now you'll be playing all these
travel teams and all of this kind of stuff where
a lot of kids, particularly those kids who are in
the urban court, they can't afford to play anymore. And
(25:09):
so we're working hard with Major League Baseball to do
everything we can to make sure that urban kids understand
their place in this game. And so when you walk
through the Negro League's Baseball Museum, what did you see?
You see people who look just like you who played
this game, and they played it as well as anyone
(25:29):
ever played this game. It's important that you see yourself
in this game.
Speaker 8 (25:36):
Thank you, mister Kendrick for sharing all those great stories
with me.
Speaker 10 (25:39):
Paidon was my pleasant and I've enjoyed hanging out with
you today.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Wow. Thank you both for this great conversation.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Listeners, thanks for joining in today and witnessing the greatness.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Of Josh Gibson with me.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Thanks so much to today's guests Bob and Drick, Fergie Philippe.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
And Pitton, Remember parents and teachers.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
You can download a free activity related to today's episode
by visiting story pirates dot Com slash Historical Records. We'll
be back next week with another episode, another song, and
another hero oute. But for now, there are a few
huge holes in the backyard of my top secret bunker
that I need to go fill in. Until next time,
remember to make history, you gotta make some noise.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
Bye.
Speaker 9 (26:41):
Historical Records is produced in partnership with Story Pirate Studios,
Questlove's two on five Entertainment John Glickman and iHeart Podcasts
Executive produced by Emir Questlove Thompson, John Glickman, Lee Overtree
and Benjamin Salka. Executive produced for iHeart Podcasts by Noel Brown.
(27:02):
Producers for Story Pirate Studios are Isabella Riccio, Sam Bear,
Eric Gerson, Andrew Miller, Lee Overtree, Peter McNerney and niminy Ware.
Producers for two one five are John G. Britney, Benjamin
and Sarah Zolman. Hosted by niminy Ware. Our head writer
is Duke Doyle. Our historians are Gabe Pacheco and Lee Polus.
(27:24):
Music supervision for two one five by Stroe Elliott. Scoring
and music supervision for Story Pirate Studios by Eric Gerson.
Sound designed and mixing by Sam Bear at the Relic
Room in New York City. Song mastering by Josh Hahn,
Theme song by Dan Foster and Eric Gerson and produced
by Eric Erson. Production coordination by Isabelle Riccio, Production management
(27:46):
by Maggie Lee. The line producer for Story Pired Studios
is Glennis Braut. Pr for Story Pirate Studios is provided
by Naomi Shaw. Episode artwork by Camilla Franklin. This episode
was written by Duke Doyle. The song Josh Gibson was
written by Dan Foster and produced by Eric Erson. Vocal
direction by Jack Mitchell, Special gut Spergie l Philippe, Bob Kendrick.
Speaker 4 (28:10):
And kid interviewer Peyton.
Speaker 9 (28:12):
This episode features performances by Nick Canalis, Peter McNerney, Lee Overtree,
and Gabe Pacheco. Special thanks to alex vespastav
Hey listeners, Niminy here, host of historical records. Get ready
to hear about a historical hero through hip hop although
parents and teachers. You can download a free activity related
to today's episode by visiting story pirates dot com slash
historical records, and now onto the show. After a few
(00:22):
words for the grown ups, keep digging raccoons.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I know it's out here somewhere.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Ugh, Hey listeners, Niminy here outside my secret underground layer
looking for a time capsule that I buried over ten
years ago and has all kinds of special items from
my childhood that I cannot wait to tell you about.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Tanna, did you find it yet? How's it going over there?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I agree?
Speaker 1 (00:55):
The ground is way too hard for these shovels. You
have a jackhammer, Tina, you buried the lead.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Let's get that thing up and run it. This is great.
We're gonna find my time capsule in no time.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
This way, Tina, No, no, no, no.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Not that way. Where are you going now.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Here?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Let me try. I appreciate the warning.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
But I'll be fine. You might be a little too
small to run this jackhammer properly. I'll just hop on
and then wh.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
Why am I going this last?
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Why am I going that way?
Speaker 5 (01:38):
Now?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Where am I? Godway?
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Well, that jackhammer clearly didn't work right, and we still
haven't found my time capsule.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
What Tina, you have a bobcat digger.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Go get it.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Why were we using shovels in a jackhammer? We're gonna
find this thing.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
No time historical records. You are now listening to historical.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
To make history, you got to have struggles to make history.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
You got to show poised, cannot be quiet, loud as
a riot to make history.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
You gotta make some noise, incredible. Dig right here, Tina.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
I know I've said this before, but I've said of
this as the spot.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
We hit the time capsule.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Now dig around it.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I didn't.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
I'm not my time capsule, and I dug it out there.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Point Tina, you did play a critical role.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Now, Listeners, you may be wondering, what does Niminy have
in this time capsule that is so important that it's
delaying the start of this episode, an episode in which
we are going to learn about the Great Baseball Legend
Josh Gibson. Excellent question, Listeners, to answer it, Let's first
drag my time capsule out.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Of this hole. Among the many.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Things I am excited to show you. First up is
a red cape that I wore pretty much every day
for nearly two years when I was a kid, and
opening the look with the key I always keep around
my neck. You see, I wanted to be a superhero,
so my red cape was critical.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Every good superhero needs a good red cape. Opening the latch. Wait,
what it's green? My superhero cape is green? How is
that possible? I was certain it was red.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
You know that is so strange.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Surely the next thing in my time capsule will match
my memory. After all, I have a fantastic memory.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
You don't know that I see it. The green looks fantastic.
This cape is even cooler than I realized. What is it? Tina?
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Right, of course we probably should get started with the
episode listeners. We'll get back to going through my time
caps a little little later. There's a lot in here
you're gonna want to see. But right now, we got
to dive into today's historical figure, Josh Gibson. And in
order to do that, we have to find our historian
friend Gabe whoa that might be the biggest construction vehicle
(04:27):
I have ever seen it's a giant excavator.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Who is driving that thing incoming? Watch out?
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Everybody? Wait? Is that Gabe? Game? Is that job?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Hey nimany I can barely see you up there.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Come on up, you can use the ladder.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Oh wow, yep, okay here come ohoa, we are really
high up.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Hey, Gabe, there you are. What are you doing with
this huge thing?
Speaker 6 (04:53):
I heard you needed some help digging, so I brought
my personal digging machine to help.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
H I actually found I was looking for And did
you say that this commercial machine typically used to dig
out massive.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Minds, is yours?
Speaker 4 (05:07):
That is correct?
Speaker 6 (05:08):
You see, being a historian and getting the history right
often takes a little digging, sometimes literally.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
That makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 6 (05:17):
Speaking of digging, should we dig into the life of
the great Josh Gibson?
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Okay? But Gabe, before we go back in time, can
I be honest?
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Please?
Speaker 4 (05:26):
I actually prefer that you be honest, respectfully.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
I really don't like that the history simulator looks and
feels and sounds like a gooey alien pod.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
It's very uncomfortable to be it.
Speaker 6 (05:37):
I couldn't agree more, which is why I built my
own history simulator.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
You did no way where was it?
Speaker 4 (05:43):
We're sitting in it. Welcome to the History Excavator, nineteen twenty.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I I love it.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Very impressive, you said, History Excavator nineteen twenty.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Why nineteen twenty?
Speaker 6 (05:57):
Oh, that's just where we're headed today. Hold on, niminy,
A Roaring twenties.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Here we come.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
It's so gay.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
This is about one hundred years.
Speaker 6 (06:10):
Ago, right nearly to the day, and it was a
time of incredible change in the United States.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Hey, look at those cool ladies with short bob haircuts
and just below the knee linked dresses.
Speaker 7 (06:21):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (06:22):
Yes, those ladies were known as flappers at the time.
These dresses were considered by many to be scandalous for
being too short.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Too short. They look like formal dresses to me. I
guess we really have come a long way or a
short way. I don't know who.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Check Out that guy wailing on the saxophone.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
Pretty amazing.
Speaker 6 (06:44):
Right in the nineteen twenties, there was an explosion of
music exploration, including the birth of jazz.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Oh and look at that group of men with those
ridiculous pinstriped suits.
Speaker 6 (06:55):
They look away, niminy, be careful, those men are very serious.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
In fact, they might be gangsters.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Gabe.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
You really shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Just because those guys look like cartoon mobsters doesn't mean
they are.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
I bet they have a great sense of humor too.
Watch this, hey, sir, your suit is hysterical.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
You look like a businessman doing an impression of a zebra.
Speaker 8 (07:21):
I you think I'm funny, You think my suitors are
joke usink I'm a zebra business clownd sent from the Zuda.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Make your laugh. No, no, no, none of that. It's
a very fetching outfit.
Speaker 6 (07:31):
And we have to go, Gaby, hit it here we
go down to the south.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
True, I was close, Gabe.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Sorry for not trusting your instincts about who is and
who is in a gangster.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Anyway, thanks for getting us out of there.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Speaking of getting out of there, Gabe, always see our
black families packing their things and getting out of town.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
It was known as the Great Migration.
Speaker 6 (07:58):
Lots of black folks were moving from the rural south
to cities in the north with the promise of safer communities,
better jobs, more pay, and a brighter future.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
And once they got to the north, where would they work.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Let's head to the north. Here we are in the North.
Speaker 6 (08:15):
Often black folks would work in steel factories like that
one in cities like this one Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Look over their gabe a department store. Can we go in?
I want to buy one of those flapper dresses.
Speaker 6 (08:27):
It's not just any department store. It's Gimbals, which is
where Josh Gibson worked.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Cool.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Let's head through the revolving doors and check it out.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Oh mah, there are.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
A head spinning amount of flapper dress options. Too many
options actually, and suddenly I have no interest in shopping. Hey,
did you say Josh Gibson works here?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
I thought he was a baseball player.
Speaker 6 (08:51):
He was, but when his family first moved to the North,
he wanted to be an electrician. I know it sounds weird,
but electricity was still considered a fairly new technology, so
it was a great trade to get into. And he
started as an elevator operator at Gimbals.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Gabe.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Sorry to interrupt, but who's that teenager over by the
old timey elevator.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
That's actually Josh Gibson.
Speaker 6 (09:14):
He takes people up and down to different floors in
the store.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Oh, of course, an elevator operator.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Got it.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
But how does he transition from this to baseball.
Speaker 6 (09:25):
Well, this department store doesn't just have an irresponsible amount
of flapper dress options.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
They also have an amateur baseball team.
Speaker 6 (09:33):
They do, yeah, they do, and it's called the gimbal Ac.
And that's how Josh Gibson started playing baseball.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
He was only sixteen though.
Speaker 6 (09:42):
That's true, but he took to the sport like a
fish to water. Josh knew how to keep his eye
on the ball and slam.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
Crack knock it out of the park.
Speaker 6 (09:51):
He was a home run king and in no time
at all, other local teams were eyeing this young prospect.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
So did he quit his job to play baseball?
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Not yet.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
He kept his job at the department store while playing baseball.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
He had to keep that job to make ends meet.
Speaker 6 (10:07):
You see, at the time, there was a different league
for black players. It was known as the Negro League,
and Josh played for a less official Negro League team,
kind of like the minor leagues today.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
And did he eventually go pro?
Speaker 4 (10:21):
You bet.
Speaker 6 (10:22):
His name and his fame grew and he eventually was
able to go professional, but it was almost by accident.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
That sounds like an interesting.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Story, It is.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
Hold tight, We're headed to the game where it all happened.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Gabe, we might be at the wrong baseball game. I
don't see Josh Gibson anywhere on the field.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
That's because he was in the stands.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
The stands, so he wasn't playing.
Speaker 6 (10:52):
Yeah, it's nineteen thirty and Josh is still playing in
the less official leagues.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
But he was at this major league game as a fan.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
I see him up there in the stands.
Speaker 6 (11:02):
Josh and everyone else and then stadium was watching the
Homestead Grays, the best Pittsburgh team in the Negro League.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Gape, there are some seats open right behind Josh. Let's
watch the game from there.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
Perfect. Hey, where'd you get all that food.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
At the concession stand, Gabe Warehouse, dontorry. I got you
a hot dog, some peanuts, some nacho's, a cotton candy.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
And a large drink.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
Oh, thank you.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Here are seats.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
This is a lot of food.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
The batter is up and I can barely hear the
announcer over your chomping.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
And here comes the bitch in a miss.
Speaker 9 (11:37):
But oh, something's wrong with buck ewing the catch up
with the Graves.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
He seems to cut the pinch in the wrong way.
And injured his hand, and I'm.
Speaker 9 (11:44):
Pretty sure he's about to start screaming, ouch my hand,
I'm hurt and I can no longer play baseball today.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
Och Well, buck you instead of game his day.
Speaker 9 (11:55):
He is done playing baseball bart today and possibly tomorrow
and the next day and probably the day after that.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Of I'm being honest the way he said out, who
knows what buccle play next?
Speaker 6 (12:04):
Mmmm, niminy, This cotton candy is amazing, Gabe.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Please, I'm trying to watch the game and buck Ewing
is out making eggs.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
Even worse, the Grays have no backup catcher.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
What are they going to do?
Speaker 2 (12:17):
No backup catcher? Well, you can't play baseball without a catcher.
Everyone knows that.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Wait.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
The coach for the Grays is walking toward us.
Speaker 6 (12:25):
That's because there's an eighteen year old sitting in the
stands right in front of us that has the reputation
of being one of the best hitters in Pittsburgh, Josh Gibson.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
The coach is asking him to play.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
And Josh is saying yes.
Speaker 9 (12:41):
I actually can't believe what I'm saying. The Grays seem
to have plucked some kid out of the stands and
now he's going to play catcher.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
And this kid's even play.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Gabe, I can't believe this is how Josh Gibson got
his big break.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Fortune favors the prepared niminy.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Oh, of course it does. Why do you think I'm
so many snacks? So did he play well in the game.
Speaker 6 (13:03):
Josh had such an incredible game that afterwards the Grays
took him on as a full time member of the team.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Josh Gibson is up the bat, and he traveled the
country playing baseball.
Speaker 6 (13:14):
And here's the bitch.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
He can acts going coming, got.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
Job, gets it absolute places fashion Harry Cleveland for that,
ballsad it out of town.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Games. What an incredible start to a career. What were
Josh's career stats like?
Speaker 6 (13:32):
Well, unfortunately, Josh played in a time when black athletes
didn't have all of their games recorded like the professional
white teams of the day.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
What so they don't know how many home runs he hit.
Speaker 6 (13:45):
They have a decent idea. It's believed that he hit
over eight hundred home runs, and two hundred and twenty
four of those were against the top Negro league teams.
That's incredible, truly, But so much of Josh Gibson's story
is tall tales and legends.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
You remember that ball that he smashed in Cleveland?
Speaker 6 (14:06):
Yeah, well some say it landed in Cincinnati the next day.
Speaker 10 (14:10):
Wow.
Speaker 6 (14:11):
And when history is a little hazy, some of the
stories burn brighter than others.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
Like the legend of what happened in Yankee Stadium?
Speaker 2 (14:19):
What happened in Yankee Stadium.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Let's go watch.
Speaker 6 (14:25):
Welcome to nineteen thirty four left field, Yankee Stadium.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Oh, look, Josh is up at the plate.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
Then we're right on time.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
There goes the pit and Josh takes up big cut.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Oh he got a hold of that.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
He's the lad that thing.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
The ball is flying to a left field that's going
up in the third deck next to the left field
pull Pennant a home.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Leaving the stadium.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Goodness, Christ, just the great Josh Gibson has done it.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Now he is responsible for the only fair ball ever
to be a fully out of Yankee Stadium.
Speaker 6 (14:57):
Nemony, I had no idea you were such a fantastic
baseball announcer.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
I'm a fast learner, I'll say.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
You know, Gabe, it's awesome that there are all these
amazing stories about Josh Gibson, but it's frustrating that his
stats weren't tracked the same way white players stats were.
Speaker 6 (15:14):
It's frustrating, all right, but even without stats, he lives
on forever in baseball history.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
That's how good he was.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
That's a neat way to think about it.
Speaker 6 (15:23):
Some people call Josh Gibson the black Babe Ruth.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Others call Babe Ruth the white Josh Gibson.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
I love that he ended his.
Speaker 6 (15:32):
Career as the second highest paid player in the Negro
League and was eventually inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
And I suppose today we are making a historical record
of Josh, so one hundred years later, he is still
being honored. His song won't include tons of statistics, obviously,
but it will be an earth shattering hip hop tune
that will never leave.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
You a head.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
Shall we head back then?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Please?
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Thanks Gabe, I got a.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
Run, Good luck, Niminy, swing for the fences.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
I always do, okay listening as a we're back, and
I am walking to the studio like Josh wakes from
the dugout to the play, excited, confident and ready to
make history.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Oh that was quick. Here we are at the studio.
Oh hey, Tina, are the musicians ready? Great time to
turn this piece of history into.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Music, featuring the incredible actor, rapper and singer Fergie l Philippe.
Speaker 4 (16:35):
Okay, here's a finured that Josh Gibson.
Speaker 9 (16:38):
I want to walk it off the map in a
long flame all the da field.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
Someone's going going and smash slam.
Speaker 5 (16:46):
Another one gone bash bam, Another one gone a crack
the bat, and another one gone a tip but the
cap because.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Another one gone.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
Wait tune twenty stand and six foot one.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Got a date at the plate.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
A big home run Bob pops off the state collect
the shot of a gun?
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Is the man?
Speaker 4 (17:00):
Is the legend? It is Josh good Son.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
He so dynamic, his hits titanic, his swings like magic.
See him coming from the dugout of the team might panic.
The crowd is ecstatic, the end of so tragic. First
we go back to where it all began. Born to
Georgia in the twenties, the great, my great Joan took
his family north into Pittsburgh, then, where Josh.
Speaker 4 (17:17):
Trained to be an electrician.
Speaker 5 (17:20):
And that's where he might have stayed fixing electronics solar's days,
But he got a job at a place where a
squad and Josh the field. The people were odd, want
to sharecroppers. But now he snare pop ups. He operated elevators.
Now he studied hitting hatters. That could be no imitators,
because I mean as an innovator and nobody great. He's
the baseball terminator. Lash slam, another one gone, bash spam,
another one gone.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
The craft good the bat and another one gone.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
A tip bud the captain is another one gone, another
one gone, another one gone, another one gone.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Here, another one gone. It's seventeen years.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
He had eight hundred home ones, three sixty average lifetime.
That ain't oh hum canning on fifty off the base
path fall fund if the Negro league, but the same
league with no one black Babe Ruth was off the description,
but many claimed the babe with the white Josh Gibson.
So if you have some wisdom, you see he's in
position to make the majors. But it's big men skin
his race. Biggots believe it dictates the sale of tickets.
They want him to stay in his place. Gibson handles
(18:17):
them mistakes with grace, always maintaining the smile upon his face.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
Keeps setting records, keeps.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Getting hits, falls into love, has a few kids places
around the world, from seed to seed. Still they never
let the man in the MLB smash Sam, another one gone,
bash bam, another one gone the craft, cut the bat,
and another one gone.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
A tip budd the cap because.
Speaker 5 (18:37):
Another one gone, another one gone, another one gone, Who
another one gone, Yeah, another one gone. When Josh Gibson
was thirty two, he started getting head aches, got.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Some X raised, then some bad news the next day.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
Kept playing for his hometown team, the Homestead Grace, But
four years later Josh gibbs and sadly passed away.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
There wasn't trus because of this, he'd be forgotten.
Speaker 5 (19:08):
But his game still alics It's hall and the monograts
will say his name, top twenty player from back then
to this year.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
Even though another one's gone, He's still here, Still here,
Still here, He's still here, even though one another was gone.
Speaker 9 (19:23):
He still here.
Speaker 5 (19:24):
Smash slam, another one gone, bash damn, another one gone to.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
Crack good back, and another one gone.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
A tip but a cat because another one's gone, another
one gone, hey, another one gone, another one gone, even
though another one was gone, And still here.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
We'll be right back after a few words for the
grown ups. Wow, that someone was amazing.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Also, there was a part of that tune that reminded
me of another object in my time capsule.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Listener, follow me to the giant fall in my backyard. Ah,
here we a Tina.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Do me a favor and dive into my time capsule
and grab the thing that looks like an old recording. Listeners,
the last thing I wanted to show you is a
recording of a speech I gave at my high school graduation. Now,
I'm pretty sure the speech was about history, but given
that I thought my superhero cape was green, maybe.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
I'm way off data.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
How are we looking fantastic, Tina, Let's play a little
bit of it and see what eighteen year old me
has to say.
Speaker 7 (20:39):
I imagine I speak for all of us today when
I say that these last four years have been a blur.
Lots of late nights, lots of early mornings, and plenty
of looking for my glasses only to find that they
were on my head the whole time. The truth is,
so much happened so quickly, it is sometimes hard to
parse through our memories of what happened and actually happened.
(21:01):
As the poet An Michael says it. Quote, history and
memory share events. That is, they share time and space.
Every moment is two moments.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
End quote.
Speaker 7 (21:11):
Well, I dare say that in these four years of
high school, we created memories and history.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
And now we carry them both proudly as we head
off into the world.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Ugh, I barely remember saying any of that. Thank you, Tina.
I guess it was a pretty good speech.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Honestly, there was a lot more to it than I remembered.
A lot like Josh Gibson's story. When I think about it,
he was probably a better baseball player than we even realized.
Maybe there's always more to the story than we can
remember or even write down.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Well, I could think about that for a long time.
Speaker 10 (21:47):
I can.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Yes, Tina, what is it? Okay? Yeah, I know I'm
late as usual.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Okay, listeners, let's raise to the room inside my secret
underground bunker where I take all my most important video calls,
boot up the.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Computer, the internets, and here we go. Hi, Bob and Peyton,
can you introduce yourself.
Speaker 10 (22:10):
Hi, my name is Bob Kendrick. I'm president of the
Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas, City, Missouri, the world's
only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history
of African American baseball and its profound impact on the
social advancement of America.
Speaker 8 (22:27):
Hi, I'm Peyton and I'm ten years old. I just
love baseball all year round.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
Peyton, what were you hoping to ask Bob about Josh Gibson?
Speaker 8 (22:40):
So, mister Kendrick, I'm wondering why did it take so
long for the Negro League players to get recognized as
some of the greatest players of all time?
Speaker 10 (22:49):
That is a great question. They toiled, I'd like to say,
in anonymity for so long, And I say that because
there were a lot of people who saw them play.
It just happened to be black. Later on, as we
get into the forties, before Jackie Robinson brace to color Arrea,
there were a lot of white fans who saw them
like too. But there are a lot of people who
(23:09):
still hold to the belief that if it didn't happen
in the major leagues, then it must not have happened.
And so we've been working so hard over the last
thirty years to make sure that people know who these
ballplayers were and how good they were and what they
contributed to the game, but just as important, what they
(23:32):
contributed to this country.
Speaker 8 (23:34):
Is it true Josh Gibson hit eight hundred home runs
in the Negro leagues.
Speaker 10 (23:40):
Honestly, Peyton, he probably hit more than that, and again
this was against all levels of competition, including the major leaguers.
I personally believe that Josh Gibson was the greatest hitter
this game has ever seen.
Speaker 8 (23:55):
I would like to see more minorities play baseball because
I'm kind of one of the only African American black
kids on my team.
Speaker 10 (24:03):
We understand that there are just not a lot of
black kids playing our game anymore. And the interesting thing
about that, Peyton, is baseball used to be our sport,
which is why we had a Negro league. You had
a league that was filled with black players and of
course some brown players because you had Hispanic. But after
(24:25):
baseball integrates and now Jackie Robinson and other black and
brown stars leave the Negro leagues to go into Major
League Baseball, that is what ultimately put the Negro leagues
out of this and then over time there became kind
of this separation, so to speak, from the African American
(24:46):
community and the game of baseball. It became very expensive
to play our sport. All the equipment is expensive, the
league fees are expensive. Now you'll be playing all these
travel teams and all of this kind of stuff where
a lot of kids, particularly those kids who are in
the urban court, they can't afford to play anymore. And
(25:09):
so we're working hard with Major League Baseball to do
everything we can to make sure that urban kids understand
their place in this game. And so when you walk
through the Negro League's Baseball Museum, what did you see?
You see people who look just like you who played
this game, and they played it as well as anyone
(25:29):
ever played this game. It's important that you see yourself
in this game.
Speaker 8 (25:36):
Thank you, mister Kendrick for sharing all those great stories
with me.
Speaker 10 (25:39):
Paidon was my pleasant and I've enjoyed hanging out with
you today.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Wow. Thank you both for this great conversation.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Listeners, thanks for joining in today and witnessing the greatness.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Of Josh Gibson with me.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Thanks so much to today's guests Bob and Drick, Fergie Philippe.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
And Pitton, Remember parents and teachers.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
You can download a free activity related to today's episode
by visiting story pirates dot Com slash Historical Records. We'll
be back next week with another episode, another song, and
another hero oute. But for now, there are a few
huge holes in the backyard of my top secret bunker
that I need to go fill in. Until next time,
remember to make history, you gotta make some noise.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
Bye.
Speaker 9 (26:41):
Historical Records is produced in partnership with Story Pirate Studios,
Questlove's two on five Entertainment John Glickman and iHeart Podcasts
Executive produced by Emir Questlove Thompson, John Glickman, Lee Overtree
and Benjamin Salka. Executive produced for iHeart Podcasts by Noel Brown.
(27:02):
Producers for Story Pirate Studios are Isabella Riccio, Sam Bear,
Eric Gerson, Andrew Miller, Lee Overtree, Peter McNerney and niminy Ware.
Producers for two one five are John G. Britney, Benjamin
and Sarah Zolman. Hosted by niminy Ware. Our head writer
is Duke Doyle. Our historians are Gabe Pacheco and Lee Polus.
(27:24):
Music supervision for two one five by Stroe Elliott. Scoring
and music supervision for Story Pirate Studios by Eric Gerson.
Sound designed and mixing by Sam Bear at the Relic
Room in New York City. Song mastering by Josh Hahn,
Theme song by Dan Foster and Eric Gerson and produced
by Eric Erson. Production coordination by Isabelle Riccio, Production management
(27:46):
by Maggie Lee. The line producer for Story Pired Studios
is Glennis Braut. Pr for Story Pirate Studios is provided
by Naomi Shaw. Episode artwork by Camilla Franklin. This episode
was written by Duke Doyle. The song Josh Gibson was
written by Dan Foster and produced by Eric Erson. Vocal
direction by Jack Mitchell, Special gut Spergie l Philippe, Bob Kendrick.
Speaker 4 (28:10):
And kid interviewer Peyton.
Speaker 9 (28:12):
This episode features performances by Nick Canalis, Peter McNerney, Lee Overtree,
and Gabe Pacheco. Special thanks to alex vespastav
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