1974 Laughlin Old-Time #8 Josh Gibson Black Stars PSA EX-MT 6

1974 Laughlin Old-Time #8 Josh Gibson Black Stars PSA 6 - The Black Babe Ruth, Freshly Graded

The 1974 Laughlin Old-Time Black Stars #8 Josh Gibson celebrates a player whose legend has only grown as baseball history has become more complete. Laughlin’s distinctive illustrated style feels particularly appropriate for Gibson—a larger-than-life figure whose extraordinary Negro Leagues career was too often absent from mainstream cardboard during his lifetime. The issue gives collectors a colorful, vintage tribute to the man famously known as “The Black Babe Ruth.”

This example has been freshly graded PSA EX-MT 6, bringing a newly certified Gibson into the hobby. The Laughlin Old-Time issues have developed a unique appeal among collectors for their artwork and celebration of baseball history beyond the traditional Topps and Bowman landscape. With Gibson as the subject, the card connects an unconventional 1970s issue with one of the most important and formidable players ever to step onto a baseball diamond.

Gibson’s power became the stuff of legend, but modern recognition has added even greater weight to his accomplishments. Following Major League Baseball’s incorporation of Negro Leagues statistics into its official historical record, Gibson is credited with extraordinary career marks, including a .372 batting average and .718 slugging percentage. His career ended far too soon when he died at just 35, only months before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier.