Baseball produced many diamonds, but only one Josh Gibson

Josh Gibson Logo

Celebrating 20 Years of the Josh Gibson Foundation Gala

Honoring a legacy. Celebrating impact. Inspiring the next generation.

Our 20th Anniversary Gala celebrated the people who carry Josh Gibson’s legacy forward—from our G.I.B.S.O.N. and Legacy Award honorees to our Tom Rooney Volunteer Award honoree and scholarship recipients.

Thank you to our sponsors, guests, volunteers, and supporters for making this milestone possible. Your generosity helps the Josh Gibson Foundation create opportunities for young people through education, mentorship, and sports.

Together, we honor the past and build possibilities for the future.

Event Details

Josh Gibson sitting

Equality was never the goal

Josh Gibson dominated. He was 6’ 1” 210 pounds of athleticism, agility and had a cannon for an arm. He froze opposing base runners as a catcher, but his best work didn’t come behind the plate. .371 batting average. 12x all-star. 2x Negro World Series champion (1943, 1944), 3x Negro National League batting champion. 2x Triple Crown. 831 hits. 171 home runs including an absolute rocket that left Yankee Stadium. Baseball’s most well-known legends regard Josh Gibson in a class of his own.

His Legacy Lives On

Every winning clubhouse has a veteran teaching younger players how to win. That inspired us to mentor young males in Langley both one-on-one and in a group setting. The Boys to Men Mentoring Program empowers at-risk youth and steers them toward positive life choices to maximize their potential.

We’re expanding educational and career opportunities for youth and families from communities of color. The Chuck Cooper and Josh Gibson Center for Equity and Education at Point Park University offers workshops, mentoring, and connections with community, business, and faculty leaders.

Sparking curiosity through hands-on learning. The Josh Gibson Foundation’s STEAM program provides Pittsburgh Classical Academy boys in grades 6–8 with opportunities to build essential skills in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.

JGF Shirts

You look legendary

IYKYK. And when you sport anything from our collection, you can help us enlighten other people about Josh’s legacy too.

May the best one win

Major League Baseball’s MVP award celebrates its most valuable player in the American League and the National League. Not the most valuable left handed player. Not the most valuable player with blue eyes. The most valuable player. Period. Full stop. Our foundation seeks to rename this award after Josh Gibson who was a legendary player excluded from competing in the major leagues. This change would honor the legacy of all Negro League players.

Gibson MVP
Negro Leagues Memorial Markers Logo

They left their mark on the game.
Now it’s our turn

We’re on a mission to honor the memory of 25 late Pittsburgh-area Negro Leagues players buried in unmarked graves. To date, we’ve rallied enough support to properly identify the graves of 13 players. Five more are in process. We’re close to making this goal a reality, but there’s still work to be done.