Science & Environment
Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and the unsung baseball stars…
The all-time statistical leaders in baseball underwent a dramatic shake-up on Wednesday after MLB’s monumental decision to include Negro League players as part of its historical record.
You may know the likes of Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige, who now sit alongside names like Babe Ruth and Cy Young, but what about Buck O’Neil, Oscar Charleston, Jud Wilson, Turkey Stearnes and Mule Suttles? Each now ranks among the greatest to ever put on a jersey and deserves to have their legacy remembered.
“That’s the beauty of what has transpired,” Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, told NBC News on Wednesday. “The work of these historians who have really worked so diligently to unearth these numbers and introduce them in this capacity where baseball fans are getting a glimpse into the lens of the Negro Leagues.”
One thing to note before looking closer at the following statistics: Stars of the Negro Leagues benefitted from modern baseball’s increased emphasis on measures tied to rates, such as on-base percentage and slugging percentage, and less on total numbers such as home runs. That’s because pre-integration Black stars played in leagues that did not stage anywhere close to the 154 games common through much of the early 20th century of MLB.
Baseball’s new slugging percentage and batting average leader, Gibson never played more than 74 games (1933 and 1943) while Suttles logged a career-high 103 games in 1929.
“The seasons were much shorter,” Kendrick said. “You have to keep in mind, the Negro Leagues, by and large, didn’t have their own stadiums. They needed to rent the ballparks from those major league teams, so they didn’t even have access to the stadium unless the major leaguers weren’t playing. So this economy of scale certainly impacted the Negro Leagues.”
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest — and not as big — stars of the Negro Leagues finally getting their due.
Josh Gibson
There’s now a new historical batting champion. For decades, Ty Cobb reigned supreme with his .367 career batting average. But after Wednesday’s announcement, Gibson has taken the top spot.
The legendary catcher, who spent 16 seasons in the Negro Leagues primarily with the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords, bested Cobb with a career average of .372. His slugging percentage of .718 is also the best in baseball history. According to Baseball Reference, Gibson led the league in batting average three times, on-base percentage six times and in slugging percentage eight times.
The 12-time All-Star and two-time champion hit a staggering .417 in 1937. He is the last player in the Negro Leagues to win the Triple Crown — leading the league in home runs, runs batted in and batting average — in consecutive seasons.
“Outstanding hitter. The best hitter that I’ve ever seen,” O’Neil told filmmaker Ken Burns. “He had the power of Ruth and the hitting ability of Ted Williams. That was Josh Gibson. Would have been outstanding (in the Majors). Would have rewritten the book as far as the home runs are concerned.”
Gibson, who died in 1947 at the age of 35, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.
Oscar Charleston
Known as one of the earliest stars of the Negro Leagues, Charleston played center field for 13 different teams. Throughout 18 seasons, he batted .363 — No. 3 in baseball history behind only Gibson and Cobb — and hit for the Triple Crown three times.
Charleston’s ranked sixth all-time in on-base percentage (.448), seventh in slugging percentage (.448) and fifth in on-base plus slugging (1.061). And here’s the most fascinating part of it all: He did most of it while also managing the team.
The Indianapolis native first managed the Harrisburg Giants from 1924 to 1926. He then led the Pittsburgh Crawfords (1932–1938), Toledo Crawfords (1939), Indianapolis Crawfords (1940), Philadelphia Stars (1941, 1948–1952) and Indianapolis Clowns (1954).
Charleston was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976.
“Charlie was a tremendous left-handed hitter who could also bunt, steal a hundred bases a year, and cover center field as well as anyone before him or since,” O’Neil said of Charleston. “He was like Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth and Tris Speaker rolled into one.”
Satchel Paige
Paige is largely recognized as the best pitcher in Negro Leagues’ history. He dominated batters from 1927 to 1947, going 125-82 with a 2.74 ERA and 1,484 career strikeouts. His 1.01 ERA for the Kansas City Monarchs in 1944 is the third-best season in baseball history.
The Mobile, Alabama, native was a six-time Negro Leagues All-Star and helped the Monarchs defeat the Homestead Grays to claim the 1942 World Series.
Paige, a 1971 Baseball Hall of Famer, would eventually make his MLB debut for the Cleveland Indians on July 9, 1948, at age 42. It remains the oldest age for a first-time player in MLB history. He led the club to the 1948 World Series.
“He could throw the ball right by your knees all day,” Baseball Hall of Famer Cool Papa Bell said of Paige.
Buck O’Neil
O’Neil played almost his entire baseball career with Kansas City (1938–1943, 1946–1948), helping the Monarchs win the title in 1942. The two-time Negro Leagues All-Star ranks seventh all-time with a 1.042 OPS.
After his playing career ended in 1948, he began managing the Monarchs until 1955, claiming two championships. O’Neil later scouted players for the Chicago Cubs for more than two decades and was credited with finding future Hall of Famer Lou Brock.
O’Neil’s biggest impact, however, came off the field, where he served a major role in the establishment of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.
He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.
“I’ve done a lot of things I really liked doing,” O’Neil said in a 2006 speech at the Baseball Hall of Fame. “But I’d rather be right here, right now, representing the people who helped build a bridge across the chasm of prejudice.”
Jud Wilson
One of the greatest hitters in Negro Leagues history, Wilson played for the Baltimore Black Sox, Homestead Grays and Philadelphia Stars from 1922 to 1945. Known for his power, the third baseman hit better than .400 in three separate seasons.
Wilson’s .350 career average ranks sixth all-time in baseball. He also possesses the 10th-best on-base percentage (.434).
The 2006 Baseball Hall of Famer was nicknamed “Boojum” based on the sound the ball would make when his line drives hit the outfield wall.
Turkey Stearnes
Satchel Paige called Stearnes “as good as anybody who ever played ball.” The Nashville native played 18 seasons in the Negro Leagues, finishing with a .348 batting average, .417 on-base percentage and 1.033 OPS. Those totals rank sixth, 22nd and ninth, respectively, in baseball history.
Stearnes, who earned the nickname “Turkey” based on his wild running style, led the Negro National League in home runs six times and had the highest batting average in both 1929 and 1931.
He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
“That man could hit the ball as far as anybody,” Cool Papa Bell said. “And he was one of our best all-around players. He could field, he could hit, he could run. He had plenty of power.”
Mule Suttles
First baseman Suttles, standing at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, was one of the top power hitters of the Negro Leagues. The 2006 Baseball Hall of Famer would hit the ball so hard and so far that fans would line up to check him out in person.
“They’d come out to see him hit the ball,” teammate Squire Moore said. “I can tell you he was a great hitter. He was known for his power. He could really hit the ball a long way. In batting practice, he hit some tape-measure balls. He could really hit it for distance.”
Suttles, who spent most of his career with the Birmingham Black Barons, St. Louis Stars and Newark Eagles, boasts the fifth-best slugging percentage in baseball history. Who had better figures? Only Gibson, Ruth, Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig.
