2217 Bedford Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15219 | |
About: The Josh Gibson Field, formerly known as Ammon Field, is located behind Ammon Recreational Center and the Josh Gibson Landmark and a few blocks away from the Historic Hill District.
Josh Gibson, the man that many regard as the greatest Negro League player ever, relocated to southwestern Pennsylvania in 1924 after his father found work in a Pittsburgh area steel mill. He began catching for the Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1927, whose original field is just blocks away from the Josh Gibson field, which is renamed in his honor. With the addition of Gibson, the Crawfords rose to the top of the city's sandlot teams and challenged Cumberland Posey's Homestead Grays. During Gibson's career, he played with numerous Hall of Famers and his Homestead Grays won an unprecedented nine consecutive Negro National League pennants.
The Josh Gibson Foundation broke ground on May 6, 2008 to begin renovation of the field. On May 30, 2009, the field reopened for the remaining season of the Josh Gibson Baseball Academy, which serves over 300 youth in the surrounding Pittsburgh area.
Josh Gibson Field Photo and text courtesy Dr. Kimberly Ellis |
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