73 Facts About Larry Doby

Lawrence Eugene Doby was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball who was the second black player to break baseball's color barrier and the first black player in the American League.

In July 1947—three months after Jackie Robinson made history with the Brooklyn Dodgers—Larry Doby broke the MLB color barrier in the American League when he signed a contract to play with Bill Veeck's Cleveland Indians.

Larry Doby was the first player to go directly to the majors from the Negro leagues.

Larry Doby helped the Indians win 111 games and the AL pennant in 1954, finished second in the AL Most Valuable Player award voting and was the AL's RBI leader and home run champion.

Larry Doby went on to play for the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, and Chunichi Dragons before his retirement as a player in 1962.

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Larry Doby later served as the second black manager in the majors with the Chicago White Sox, and in 1995 was appointed to a position in the AL's executive office.

Larry Doby served as a director with the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association.

Larry Doby was selected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 by the Hall's Veterans Committee and died in 2003 at the age of 79.

Larry Doby was born in Camden, South Carolina, to David Larry Doby and Etta Brooks.

Larry Doby lived with his grandmother before moving to live with his father's sister and brother-in-law from 1934 to 1938.

Larry Doby attended Jackson School, which was segregated under South Carolina state law.

At Paterson Eastside High School, Larry Doby was a multi-sport athlete; as well as playing baseball and basketball, he was a wide receiver in football and lettered in track.

Larry Doby had a brief stint with the Harlem Renaissance, a professional basketball team, as an unpaid substitute player.

Larry Doby had been dating Eastside classmate Helyn Curvy since his sophomore year and, according to Larry Doby, being able to remain close to Paterson was the "main reason" he selected LIU.

Larry Doby recalled a game against catcher Josh Gibson and pitcher Ray Brown of the Homestead Grays:.

Larry Doby spent 1943 and part of 1944 at Camp Robert Smalls at the Great Lakes Naval Training School near Chicago.

Larry Doby then went to Treasure Island Naval Base in San Francisco Bay, California.

Larry Doby was stationed on Ulithi in the Pacific Ocean in 1945.

Larry Doby heard of Jackie Robinson's minor league contract deal with the Montreal Royals of the International League from his base on Ulithi listening to Armed Forces Radio, and as a result Larry Doby saw real hope in becoming a Major League baseball player.

Larry Doby's name was mentioned when Veeck talked with reporters who covered the Negro leagues.

Player-manager Lou Boudreau initially had a hard time finding a place in the lineup for Larry Doby, who had played second base and shortstop for most of his career.

Four of Larry Doby's teammates did not shake his hand, and of those, two turned their backs to Larry Doby when he tried to introduce himself.

Larry Doby entered the game in the seventh inning as a pinch-hitter for relief pitcher Bryan Stephens and recorded a strikeout.

Larry Doby had played the position before with the Eagles but was without a proper mitt for first base and met much resistance when attempts were made to borrow one from teammates, including first baseman Eddie Robinson, whom Boudreau had asked Larry Doby to replace that day.

Larry Doby said only because Gordon asked in the clubhouse to borrow one of the first baseman's mitts did he have one to use in the second game of the doubleheader as earlier direct requests from Larry Doby were rejected.

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Larry Doby played four games at second base and one each at first base and shortstop.

Larry Doby was a great American, served the country in World War II, and he was a great ballplayer.

Larry Doby was kind of like Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, because he was the second African-American in the majors behind Jackie Robinson.

Larry Doby was just as good of a ballplayer, an exciting player, and a very good teammate.

In 1948, Larry Doby experienced his first spring training with the Indians in Tucson, Arizona.

Larry Doby credited Indians coach Bill McKechnie with helping him adjust to the majors and learning the outfield.

Larry Doby played a major role in Cleveland's World Series victory against the Boston Braves.

Larry Doby was one of five Indians selected by Boudreau and joined Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe as the first black players to be amongst those chosen to participate in the 1949 All-Star Game.

Larry Doby hit the 100-RBI mark for the first time in his career while his OBP led the AL.

Larry Doby finished eighth in AL MVP voting, highest among outfielders.

Larry Doby was named by Cleveland sports writers as the Cleveland Baseball Man of the Year after the season, the first time a black player was chosen.

Larry Doby hit 20 home runs and 69 RBIs in 1951, both fewer than the previous season, and his batting average improved to.

One month before spring training for the 1952 season, Larry Doby employed former Olympic track and field athlete Harrison Dillard to come to his home in New Jersey to prepare his legs in hopes of eliminating injuries, which had affected him the previous season.

Larry Doby led the AL in strikeouts for the second and final time in his career, a career-high 121 times, but hit 29 home runs and 102 RBIs on the year.

Sixth time in his major league career, Larry Doby was named an All-Star during the 1954 season, one of five Indians named.

Larry Doby's home run was the first hit by a black player in an All-Star Game.

Larry Doby finished the 1955 season with 26 home runs and 75 RBIs while hitting.

Larry Doby thought of himself, at the beginning, as the symbol of the Negro in his league.

Larry Doby was sent to the Detroit Tigers on March 21,1959, in exchange for Tito Francona.

Larry Doby worked out with the White Sox before the 1960 season but, due to nagging injuries, did not earn a roster spot.

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Larry Doby had participated in baseball clinics in 1962 as a member of a travel delegation from the US Department of State.

That year, Larry Doby came out of retirement and became one of the first Americans to play professional baseball in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league when he and Don Newcombe, a former teammate with the Newark Eagles, signed contracts with the Chunichi Dragons.

Larry Doby was batting coach under manager Gene Mauch from 1971 to 1973 and again in 1976.

Larry Doby rejoined the Indians for the 1974 season as first base coach for manager Ken Aspromonte.

At age 53, Larry Doby became the second black manager in the majors after Robinson.

Veeck hired player-manager Don Kessinger to succeed Larry Doby after deciding not to re-hire Larry Doby, although Kessinger resigned as manager in the second half of the 1979 season.

Larry Doby was named special assistant to the AL's last president, Gene Budig, on April 17,1995.

Larry Doby integrated all those American League ball parks where Jackie Robinson never appeared.

Larry Doby served as one of the pallbearers at Robinson's funeral.

Larry Doby came up as a second baseman who didn't have time to get his full college education, and was forced to play a different position in his first major league season.

Larry Doby experienced many prejudices during his time before, during, and after the majors.

One incident took place during a game as Larry Doby was sliding into second base when the shortstop from the opposing team spat tobacco juice on him.

Larry Doby called it the worst injustice he experienced on the field.

Larry Doby endured many racial slurs, from the stands and elsewhere, during games.

Larry Doby was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on March 3,1998, by the Veterans Committee at the age of 74.

Larry Doby was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on July 26,1998.

Larry Doby became the first member born in South Carolina elected to the Hall.

Larry Doby had a kidney removed in 1997 after a cancerous tumor was detected.

Larry Doby died on June 18,2003, at his home in Montclair, New Jersey, at age 79 after suffering from cancer.

When Doby died, President George W Bush made the following statement:.

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Larry Doby was a good and honorable man, and a tremendous athlete and manager.

Larry Doby had a profound influence on the game of baseball, and he will be missed.

Larry Doby achieved another historic second 31 years later he became the second African-American to manage a big league club, following Frank Robinson.

Larry Doby played out his career with dignity and then slid gracefully into various front-office positions in basketball and then later in baseball.

Only in the 90's did baseball wake up to the obvious fact that Larry Doby was every bit as deserving of recognition as Jackie.

Long before Larry Doby was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame came induction in the Indians Hall of Fame in August 1966.

Larry Doby asked me how my family was back in the first inning.

In 2011, the US Postal Service announced that Larry Doby would be one of the four baseball players to appear on a postage stamp in 2012, as part of its "Major League Baseball All-Stars" series.