Larry Doby

Lawrence Eugene Doby (December 13, 1923 – June 18, 2003) was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who was the second black player to break baseball's color barrier and the first black player in the American League.

A native of Camden, South Carolina, and three-sport all-state athlete while in high school in Paterson, New Jersey, Doby accepted a basketball scholarship from Long Island University.

At 17 years of age, he began his professional baseball career with the Newark Eagles as the team's second baseman.

Doby joined the United States Navy during World War II.

Doby was born in Camden, South Carolina, to David Doby and Etta Brooks on December 13, 1923.

Doby's father served in World War I. David worked as a horse groomer and played semi-professional baseball, but drowned in an accident at age 37 in New York state.

Doby's mother, who had divorced David before his death, moved to Paterson, New Jersey; Doby remained in Camden.

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

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

His first opportunity to play organized baseball came as a student at Boylan-Haven-Mather Academy, a private school affiliated with the Methodist church.

Richard Dubose, who had managed Doby's father and was known locally in African-American circles for his baseball expertise, gave Doby some of his first baseball lessons.

Reflecting on his years growing up in South Carolina, including how he and playmates used worn down broom handles for bats, Doby said, "Growing up in Camden, we didn't have baseball bats. We'd use a tree here, a tin can there, for bases."

After completing eighth grade, Doby moved north to Paterson at the age of 14 to be reunited with his mother; she visited him weekly while he lived with one of her friends.

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

After winning a state football championship, the Eastside team was invited to play in Florida, but the promoters would not allow Doby, the only black player on the team, to participate.

Consequently, the team voted to forgo the trip as a gesture of support for Doby.

During summer vacation Doby played baseball with a black semi-pro team, the Smart Sets, where he played with future Hall of Fame shortstop Monte Irvin.

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

Upon completing high school, he accepted an athletic scholarship to play basketball at Long Island University Brooklyn (LIU).

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

In the summer before he enrolled at LIU, Doby accepted an offer to play for the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League (NNL) for the remainder of the 1942 season, and he transferred to Virginia Union University as a result.

Negro league umpire Henry Moore advised Newark Eagles' owners Abe and Effa Manley to give Doby a tryout at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, which was successful; Doby joined the Eagles in 1942 at the age of 17 for $300.

The contract stated Doby would play until September when he would start classes at college; to protect his amateur status he signed using the alias "Larry Walker" and local reporters were told he originated from Los Angeles, California.

On May 31, Doby appeared in his first professional game when the Eagles played against the New York Cubans at Yankee Stadium.

In the 26 games where box scores have been found, Doby's batting average was .391.

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

"My first time up, Josh said, 'We're going to find out if you can hit a fastball.' I singled. Next time up, Josh said, 'We're going to find out if you can hit a curveball.' I singled. Third time up, Josh said, 'We're going to find out how you do after you're knocked down.' I popped up the first time after they knocked me down. The second time, I singled."

Doby's career in Newark was interrupted for two years for service in the United States Navy.

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

He appeared on an all-black baseball squad and maintained a .342 batting average against teams composed of white players, some of which featured major leaguers.

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

His military service complete, Doby returned to baseball in 1946, and along with teammate Monte Irvin, helped the Eagles win the Negro League World Series.

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

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

A seven-time All-Star center fielder, Doby and teammate Satchel Paige were the first African-American players to win a World Series championship when the Indians took the crown in 1948.

He helped the Indians win 111 games (second-best in MLB history at the time) and the AL pennant in 1954, finished second in the American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award voting and was the AL's RBI leader and home run champion.

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

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.

He also served as a director with the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He 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.