1983 Donruss Hall of Fame Heroes Josh Gibson Jr Auto Autograph CGC Authentic.  graph CGC Authentic.  The card is autographed by Josh Gibson Jr, the Negro League baseball player who was born in 1930.  His father was one of the greatest sluggers to ever play baseball.

The son of the greatest slugger Josh Gibson, he played briefly in organized baseball in 1948 after being signed at age seventeen by the Youngstown (Ohio) Colts of the Class C Mid-Atlantic League, immediately after his graduation from Schenley High School in Pittsburgh.  The next season he was given a chance with the Homestead Grays because of his father, and for two years (1949-1950) he played with the Grays. His father's close friend Sam Bankhead was his manager and mentor. Following the breakup of the Grays, he went with Bankhead to Farnham in the Canadian Provincial League, where he played third base. He was very fast on the bases; Bankhead gave him the green light to run, and he pilfered 20 bases in 68 games before breaking his ankle sliding into second base. Despite the injury, he continued to play with the ankle deadened with Novocain. 
As a youngster, he had been the Pittsburgh Crawfords' batboy when his father was with the team. His mother died giving birth to him and his twin sister, and he was reared by his grandmother, but in later years he developed a close relationship with his father. However, Bankhead served as a surrogate father and probably had a greater influence on him than his real father. After their baseball careers had ended, he and Bankhead worked together for the city of Pittsburgh's Sanitation Department. He later had to retire because of health conditions that eventually necessitated a kidney transplant.

Professional/Personal Accomplishments:
"After baseball, I worked for Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, teaching kids the history and fundamentals of baseball and about the Negro Leagues. In 1972, I learned that I needed a kidney transplant. In the 1980s, I started traveling with the Negro Leagues Baseball Players Association (NLBPA) to different cities for autograph shows. I had another kidney transplant in 1992."

"I founded the Josh Gibson Foundation in 1994. During its first four years, the foundation was not very active due to complications from my second transplant. However, since 1999, my grandson, Sean Gibson, has been operating the foundation. So far, we've made some progress. In order to keep my father's name alive, Sean has started the Josh Gibson Little League. Also, we're in the process of applying for nonprofit status."