Babe Ruth, Josh Gibson Meet on Canvas

The great grandsons of baseball legends Babe Ruth and Josh Gibson, who met by chance at a wedding reception several years ago, have commmissioned an original painting of a fantasy meeting between their illustrious Hall of Fame ancestors.

The painting, by the celebrated artist Bill Purdom, depicts Babe and Josh standing together with a backdrop of old Yankee Stadium. The Babe wears his pinstripe uniform and Josh, who is holding a bat while talking baseball with Ruth, is in his familiar Homestead Grays uniform.

Ruth, (1895-1948) who remains the most popular sports figure in American history, even 59 years after his passing, was considered Major League Baseball’s savior. By hitting more home runs each year than most teams hit, Babe changed the way the game is played and endeared himself to fans after the horror of the 1919 World Series “fix.”

Gibson, (1911-1947) known as the “Black Babe Ruth,” was considered just as powerful a slugger. He was the source of legendary home run feats, but, because of the unwritten “color line” in force during his life, never got to match skills with Ruth on the diamond. There is no evidence of an actual meeting between these two baseball greats, thus making this painting fun, fanciful and wishful.

There will be two versions of the painting, “Josh & The Babe” – Legends of Their Leagues No. 1, reproduced. A limited edition of 300 will be an 18” x 24” giclee on superior, heavyweight satin canvas which will have a retail price of $295. A second, open-ended edition will be an 8” x 10” museum print on 200-year archival paper and will sell for $49.95.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the prints will be benefit the Babe Ruth League scholarship fund and the Josh Gibson Foundation.

Brent Stevens, the great-grandson of the Babe Ruth and grandson of Julia Ruth Stevens (one of Babe’s two daughters), and Sean Gibson, the great-grandson of Josh Gibson, collaborated with their partners, Legendary Sports Prints and Bill Purdom to introduce this meaningful image.

“I think Babe would have loved the chance to play against Josh,” notes Brent Stevens, a resident of Atlanta. “He played a lot of interracial exhibition games and enjoyed the experience. For much of his career, he battled Lou Gehrig for the home run title, so it would have been an exciting opportunity for Babe and Josh to match-up against each other in a similar duel. It’s a real shame that they didn’t have the chance to play against each other.”

The print is available through Ironclad Authentics, LLC.