Mike Gibbons
FameRank: 4

"Mike Gibbons" was an American boxer from 1908 to 1922. The brother of heavyweight Tommy Gibbons, Mike claimed Middleweight Champion of the World status in 1909 following Stanley Ketchel's murder. Although he never won the title, Gibbons is regarded as one of the all-time best welter and middleweight boxers by historians. Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Gibbons as the #18 ranked middleweight of all time, while The Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer placed him at #9. The International Boxing Research Organization rates Gibbons as the 17th best middleweight ever and boxing historian Bert Sugar placed him 92nd in his Top 100 Fighters catalogue. Gibbons retired due to deteriorating vision. Following his boxing career he entered business in his native St. Paul, and became a member of the Minnesota Athletic Commission. Gibbons was elected to the Ring Magazine hall of fame/Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1958, the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992, the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997, and the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010.

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We've gotten more calls about the Babe now than ever.

From the research I have done in this area, all signs point to Ruth having befriended the black ballplayers and enjoyed playing against them. I think if it had been left to Babe, the racial barriers would have been broken down many years before 1947 [the year Jackie Robinson broke the color line].