Longest home run ever was hit in Belmar? Josh Gibson's remarkable swat celebrated

BELMAR - At a glance, the baseball diamond on Memorial Field here doesn’t look like much. The grass is a ragged, and the base paths are pockmarked with holes that become muddy puddles when it rains.

But now, for the first time, visitors can learn of its rich history — and the incredible feat that took place there 86 years ago.

A commemorative plaque has been affixed to a rock behind the backstop, near the corner of 12th and Railroad avenues. It explains how, on July 24, 1936, “the great Josh Gibson hit a legendary 600-foot home run that reached the backyard of the Belmar Post Office.”

It also lists the 12 members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown who once played at Memorial Field: Gibson, Roy Campanella, Satchell Paige, “Cool Papa” Bell, Martin Dihigo, Oscar Charleston, Leon Day, Roy Dandridge, Judy Johnson, Buck Leonard, Mule Suttles and Willie Wells.

The plaque was supposed to be dedicated May 14, but the ceremony was postponed indefinitely by rain.

“Having played and coached on that field, it would have meant so much more to know what occurred there,” said Spencer Heulitt, president of the Belmar Historical Society. “It’s inspiring to play on a field of that stature.”

Here’s a brief rundown of the field’s amazing backstory.

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'It was all forgotten'

Memorial Field opened in 1921 as a tribute to Belmar residents who fought in World War I (there’s a war memorial just beyond the outfield fence). In the 1920s and 1930s, the field was home to the semipro Belmar Braves. In 1935 the New York Cubans, a Negro National League team led by player-coach Dihigo, used the field for its Saturday home games. At a time when Blacks were barred from Major League Baseball, barnstorming tours featuring Negro League stars made stops there as well. Thousands of spectators came to watch.

Chief among the headliners was Gibson, known as “the Black Babe Ruth.” His Pittsburgh Crawfords team visited in 1936 and his home run that day became part of local lore. In a 1973 interview with the Coast Advertiser, former Braves catcher Dave Egbert said Gibson’s blast “cleared the center field fence and landed in the back yard of the post office.”

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The post office opened earlier that year. It’s in the same spot today, and the dimensions of the field have not changed. At minimum, Gibson's home run traveled 600 feet.

There is no way to verify it now, but if true, it could well be the longest ever witnessed. That distinction is a subject of longstanding debate among baseball experts. Ruth’s 575-footer against the Detroit Tigers in 1921 often comes up.

Over time Gibson’s feat receded in the public consciousness. Heulitt, who played baseball at Manasquan High School, had been pushing for Belmar officials to place a historical marker. An Asbury Park Press feature published last year, on the occasion of Memorial Field turning 100, helped jump-start the conversation.

“The feedback I was getting was, nobody remembered this,” Heulitt said. “It was all forgotten.”

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Gibson's posthumous power

In addition to the plaque, signs have gone up on each dugout. The first-base dugout is now named after Gibson and the third-base dugout after Dihigo. Nicknamed “The Immortal,” Dihigo played every position and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.

Major League Baseball finally became integrated for good in 1947, when the Brooklyn Dodgers started Jackie Robinson. Gibson died earlier that year at age 35, but his popularity and near-mythical status helped open the door.

“The Hall of Famers and teams that played at Belmar Memorial Field played a part in the integration of Major League Baseball,” Heulitt said. “People aren't always living their lives with the thought of inspiring, even though they do.”

The final line on the plaque at Memorial Field, which still gets used for games at various levels, builds on that idea.

It reads, “Be inspired — play ball.”

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Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Possible longest home run ever, by Josh Gibson celebrated in Belmar NJ