Josh Gibson

Catcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (Final season: 1946)

Josh Gibson was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Memphis Red Sox, the Homestead Grays, and the Pittsburgh Crawfords. In 766 career games, he hit .364 with 1,007 hits, 197 home runs, and 872 RBI. Josh Gibson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972 and was a 10-time All-Star. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 28,319.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

⭐ Hall of Fame 1972
AVG .364
HR 197
RBI 872
H 1,007
OPS 1.136
PIV 28,319
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 220 lb
Born
12/21/1911 in Buena Vista, GA, USA
Died
1/20/1947 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Last Game
1946-09-30
Hall of Fame
Inducted 1972 (Negro League)
Awards
10× All-Star

Full name: Joshua Gibson

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Josh Gibson — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
2397.0 2031.0 612.0 855.0 120.0 61.0 198.0 538.0 359.0 30.0 28.0 .421 .507 .833 1.340

Career Batting Statistics

Josh Gibson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
766 2,768 733 1,007 170 72 197 872 44 400 20 .364 .446 .691 1.136 28,319

Career AVG .364 vs. league average .271 across their career seasons — +34.2% above league average.

Career OBP .446 vs. league average .337 across their career seasons — +32.4% above league average.

Career SLG .691 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — +80.4% above league average.

Career OPS 1.136 vs. league average .720 across their career seasons — +57.9% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Josh Gibson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1930 MRS NNL 1 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 — — — — 0.0
1930 HG IND 32 107 20 40 3 2 9 37 0 8 5 .374 .293 (+27%) .354 (+19%) .429 (+61%) .784 (+42%) 0.0
1931 HG IND 48 183 39 57 14 4 8 42 0 13 3 .311 .276 (+13%) .338 (+7%) .388 (+45%) .726 (+27%) 782.8
1932 PC IND 64 241 46 79 14 6 9 47 1 26 1 .328 .275 (+19%) .335 (+18%) .391 (+40%) .726 (+30%) 1273.0
1933 PC NN2 69 243 61 96 15 7 18 75 4 19 0 .395 .270 (+46%) .329 (+34%) .377 (+95%) .707 (+67%) 2735.1
1934 PC NN2 65 240 56 76 19 4 15 59 4 30 1 .317 .278 (+14%) .340 (+16%) .392 (+57%) .733 (+38%) 1607.0
1935 PC NN2 44 168 48 62 11 4 10 57 10 24 2 .369 .279 (+32%) .342 (+31%) .399 (+65%) .742 (+49%) 1479.8
1936 PC NN2 50 175 51 68 7 4 18 66 6 30 0 .389 .283 (+37%) .349 (+37%) .404 (+94%) .753 (+67%) 2168.6
1937 HG NN2 39 156 60 65 13 7 20 73 2 25 0 .417 .276 (+51%) .342 (+46%) .398 (+145%) .740 (+99%) 2658.3
1938 HG NN2 47 168 54 61 11 4 13 54 3 30 0 .363 .272 (+33%) .341 (+35%) .392 (+80%) .734 (+59%) 1803.8
1939 HG NN2 28 104 35 42 5 3 11 40 3 15 0 .404 .274 (+47%) .342 (+38%) .393 (+110%) .735 (+77%) 1332.8
1940 HG NN2 2 6 2 1 0 0 1 2 0 3 0 .167 — — — — 0.0
1942 HG NN2 62 212 57 72 9 4 14 66 4 51 1 .340 .253 (+34%) .323 (+46%) .349 (+77%) .672 (+62%) 2435.5
1943 HG NN2 70 249 93 116 23 9 20 112 4 55 1 .466 .255 (+82%) .324 (+74%) .346 (+152%) .671 (+114%) 5002.8
1944 HG NN2 50 180 40 60 8 6 10 50 3 23 0 .333 .261 (+27%) .325 (+25%) .357 (+71%) .683 (+49%) 1435.7
1945 HG NN2 47 161 37 56 6 5 8 40 0 33 4 .348 .260 (+33%) .328 (+40%) .354 (+68%) .683 (+54%) 1545.5
1946 HG NN2 48 171 34 54 12 3 13 52 0 15 2 .316 .256 (+23%) .328 (+13%) .358 (+81%) .687 (+48%) 1259.7
Career · 17 seasons 766 2,768 733 1,007 170 72 197 872 44 400 20 .364 — — — — 27,520

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Pitching Statistics

Josh Gibson — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.2 4 4 0 1 0 21.60 0.0

Career ERA 21.60 vs. league average 4.35 across their career seasons — 397.0% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Josh Gibson — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1935 PC NN2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.2 4 4 1 0 21.60 — 0.0
Career · 1 season 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.2 4 4 1 0 21.60 — 0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Josh Gibson — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
34 120 22 32 2 1 5 15 24 1 .267

Playoff Batting by Year

Josh Gibson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1945 NWS HG 4 14 0 2 1 0 0 1 2 0 .143
1944 NWS HG 5 15 3 6 0 0 1 2 7 0 .400
1943 NWS HG 7 26 8 5 1 0 0 2 6 0 .192
1942 NWS HG 4 13 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 .077
1939 NLC HG 5 15 3 6 0 0 2 3 5 0 .400
1939 NLP2 HG 2 6 1 1 0 0 1 2 2 0 .167
1935 NLC PC 7 31 5 11 0 1 1 5 0 0 .355

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (456 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Josh Gibson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home26169622631671194.454
Away19361417422651140.368

Pitching — Home / Away

Josh Gibson — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home11.250100.00
Away10.00000—

Last 10 Games — Batting

Josh Gibson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1946-09-15 HOMNY6W 301000000
1946-09-15 HOMNY6W 411001100
1946-09-08 HOMNY5W 011001100
1946-09-08 HOMNY5W 000000000
1946-09-02 HOMBLGL 404000000
1946-09-02 HOMBLGW 423002300
1946-09-01 HOMBLGL 311000000
1946-09-01 HOMBLGL 322100010
1946-08-31 HOMPH5L 401000000
1946-08-30 HOMPH5L 401100100

Last 2 Games — Pitching

Josh Gibson — Last 2 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1935-07-06 PTCHOM — 1.2550100
1935-05-07 PTCNSH — 0.0000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Josh Gibson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 37 33 265 24 10 19
3B 14 8 6 14 3 1
C 637 607 3301 452 78 48
OF 97 86 118 12 7 2
P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Josh Gibson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1930 MRS C 1 1 1 1 1 0
1930 HG C 30 26 166 22 6 2
1930 HG OF 1 0 2 0 0 0
1931 HG C 38 38 211 31 3 6
1931 HG OF 11 10 16 3 1 1
1932 PC C 36 33 183 23 4 2
1932 PC OF 34 30 37 4 3 0
1933 PC 1B 4 3 29 2 3 1
1933 PC 3B 4 2 1 2 0 0
1933 PC C 49 46 279 36 5 9
1933 PC OF 12 12 15 3 0 1
1934 PC 1B 6 5 45 4 0 3
1934 PC 3B 3 2 2 3 0 0
1934 PC C 56 54 348 46 10 5
1934 PC OF 4 4 4 0 0 0
1935 PC 1B 8 7 67 6 3 6
1935 PC 3B 1 0 2 1 0 1
1935 PC C 34 32 200 31 2 2
1935 PC OF 3 3 4 0 0 0
1935 PC P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1936 PC 1B 6 6 36 3 2 5
1936 PC 3B 1 0 0 2 0 0
1936 PC C 40 38 196 30 10 2
1936 PC OF 4 4 5 0 1 0
1937 HG 1B 1 1 10 1 0 0
1937 HG 3B 1 0 0 1 1 0
1937 HG C 36 36 205 23 4 5
1937 HG OF 1 1 2 0 1 0
1938 HG 1B 2 2 17 2 0 0
1938 HG 3B 3 3 0 3 1 0
1938 HG C 44 41 215 29 2 2
1938 HG OF 1 1 1 0 0 0
1939 HG 1B 1 1 7 1 0 1
1939 HG C 28 27 126 23 1 1
1940 HG 1B 1 1 6 0 1 0
1940 HG C 1 1 4 1 1 0
1942 HG 1B 2 2 11 1 0 1
1942 HG C 54 53 272 28 5 2
1942 HG OF 6 6 10 0 0 0
1943 HG C 62 58 283 30 5 1
1943 HG OF 12 10 17 2 1 0
1944 HG 1B 2 1 8 0 0 0
1944 HG C 43 41 188 29 7 3
1944 HG OF 6 4 4 0 0 0
1945 HG 1B 2 2 13 4 1 1
1945 HG C 42 41 221 34 5 2
1945 HG OF 2 1 1 0 0 0
1946 HG 1B 2 2 16 0 0 1
1946 HG 3B 1 1 1 2 1 0
1946 HG C 43 41 203 35 7 4

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Josh Gibson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 1
Catcher 637
First Base 37
Third Base 14
Left Field 57
Center Field 4
Right Field 36

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

  1. 98
    Biz Mackey HOF
    .329 avg, 64 HR
  2. 97
    Mickey Cochrane HOF
    .320 avg, 119 HR
  3. 95
    Louis Santop HOF
    .340 avg, 24 HR
  4. 93
    Bill Dickey HOF
    .313 avg, 202 HR
  5. 92
    Roy Campanella HOF
    .283 avg, 260 HR
  6. 90
    Babe Phelps
    .310 avg, 54 HR

Compare Josh Gibson

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Gibson's closest peers by position and era.

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vs Lou Gehrig
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vs Jimmie Foxx
vs Rogers Hornsby
vs Mel Ott

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Josh Gibson: the record in brief

Josh Gibson's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1930 to 1946. Club by club, the record runs the Memphis Red Sox (1930), the Homestead Grays (1930 to 1946), and the Pittsburgh Crawfords (1932 through 1936). Born on December 21, 1911, in Buena Vista, GA, USA, Gibson is listed as a catcher and threw and hit right-handed. Size on record: 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds. Gibson died on January 20, 1947, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. The given name on file is Joshua Gibson.

Across 766 games at the plate, Gibson's career line reads 1,007 hits in 2,768 at bats for a .364 average, plus 197 homers, 872 RBI, and 44 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .446 and the slugging percentage .691, for an OPS of 1.136. Over the seasons Gibson played, league hitters batted .271; the .364 career figure is 34.2% above that. Gibson's most home runs in a season came in 1937, when the total reached 20 for the Homestead Grays.

Frequently Asked Questions about Josh Gibson

Was Josh Gibson a pitcher?
No. Josh Gibson was a position player (Catcher), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
How many home runs did Josh Gibson hit?
Josh Gibson hit 197 career home runs with 1,007 hits.
Is Josh Gibson in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Josh Gibson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.
What teams did Josh Gibson play for?
Josh Gibson played for 3 teams: the Memphis Red Sox (1930), the Homestead Grays (1930–1931, 1937–1940, 1942–1946), and the Pittsburgh Crawfords (1932–1936).
Did Josh Gibson win an MVP award?
No. Josh Gibson did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Josh Gibson win?
Josh Gibson was selected to 10 All-Star Games.
What were Josh Gibson's career stats?
In 766 games, Josh Gibson had 1,007 hits, 197 home runs, 872 RBI, 733 runs, and 44 stolen bases, with a .364 batting average.
What position did Josh Gibson play?
Josh Gibson played primarily as a catcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Josh Gibson and how much did he weigh?
Josh Gibson was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 220 pounds.
How many home runs did Josh Gibson hit each season?
Josh Gibson's home runs by season: 9 in 1930, 8 in 1931, 9 in 1932, 18 in 1933, 15 in 1934, 10 in 1935, 18 in 1936, 20 in 1937, 13 in 1938, 11 in 1939, 1 in 1940, 14 in 1942, 20 in 1943, 10 in 1944, 8 in 1945, and 13 in 1946. His most in one season was 20, in 1937 and 1943.
What was Josh Gibson's career batting average?
Josh Gibson batted .364 over his career, with 1,007 hits in 2,768 at bats.
How many RBI did Josh Gibson have?
Josh Gibson drove in 872 runs in his career.
What was Josh Gibson's career ERA?
Josh Gibson finished with a 21.60 career ERA, going 0-0 with 0 strikeouts.
How many All-Star Games did Josh Gibson make?
Josh Gibson was selected to 10 All-Star Games.