Larry Doby came up slightly before my time - July 5th 1947.
However he stuck around as a Big Leaguer until 1959 and to be honest I can't recall seeing him play live for some reason. I started going Red Sox games around 1958 when Larry was traded to Tigers and then White Sox during the 1959 season (his last in MLB). He played a year in Japan in 1962 believe it or not.
MLB Pioneers Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby (Circa 1950).
Larry Doby was the second African American player to play in the modern major leagues and the first to do so in the American League. A center fielder, Doby appeared in seven All-Star games and finished second in the 1954 American League MVP voting. Appointed manager of the Chicago White Sox in 1978, Doby was the second African-American to manage a Major League club. He was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 by the Hall's Veterans Committee.
Acheivements:
7x All-Star selection (1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955)
World Series champion (1948)
Cleveland Indians #14 retired
First African American to play a game in the American League.
Inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans committee
in 1998.
In 1948, Doby became an important piece of Cleveland's World Series victory against the Boston Braves. In Game Four of the 1948 Fall Classic, Doby became the first African American player to hit a home run in World Series history. He also helped the Indians to win 111 games and the American League pennant in 1954.
At the end of the 1955 season, Doby was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Chico Carrasquel and Jim Busby. He returned to Cleveland in 1958 for a short period of time, finishing his majors' career in 1959 with the White Sox after a brief stint with the Detroit Tigers.
Doby was a .283 career hitter with 253 home runs and 970 RBI in 1,533 games. He hit at least 20 homers in each season from 1949-56, leading the league in 1952 (32) and 1954 (32), and appearing between the top ten leaders in seven seasons (1949, 1951-56). He hit for the cycle (1952), and also led the league in runs in 1952 (104), RBI in 1954 (126), on base percentage in 1950 (.442), slugging average in 1952 (.541), and OPS in 1950 (.986).
In 1962, Doby became the third American to play professional baseball in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league, after Wally Kaname Yonamine and Don Newcombe.
After retiring, he was a coach for the Montreal Expos and the Indians, and became manager of the White Sox in the middle of the 1978 season. In a coincidental parallel, Doby was also the second black manager in the major leagues, after Frank Robinson had become the manager of Cleveland in 1975.
Born on December 13th 1923 in Camden South Carolina Larry Doby passed away on June 18th 2003 in Montclair New Jersey at the age of 79. At the time of his death then President George W. Bush made the following statement about Larry Doby.
"Larry Doby was a good and honorable man, and a tremendous athlete and manager. He had a profound influence on the game of baseball, and he will be missed. As the first African American player in the American League, he helped lead the Cleveland Indians to their last World Series title in 1948, became a nine-time All-Star and was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. Laura joins me in sending our condolences to Larry's family during this difficult time."
On August 10, 2007, the Indians paid tribute to Doby on Larry Doby Day by collectively using his number (14) on their uniforms.
Wil.
Stats from wikipedia, Baseball Reference.com and Baseball Hall of Fame.com
However he stuck around as a Big Leaguer until 1959 and to be honest I can't recall seeing him play live for some reason. I started going Red Sox games around 1958 when Larry was traded to Tigers and then White Sox during the 1959 season (his last in MLB). He played a year in Japan in 1962 believe it or not.
MLB Pioneers Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby (Circa 1950).
Larry Doby was the second African American player to play in the modern major leagues and the first to do so in the American League. A center fielder, Doby appeared in seven All-Star games and finished second in the 1954 American League MVP voting. Appointed manager of the Chicago White Sox in 1978, Doby was the second African-American to manage a Major League club. He was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 by the Hall's Veterans Committee.
Acheivements:
7x All-Star selection (1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955)
World Series champion (1948)
Cleveland Indians #14 retired
First African American to play a game in the American League.
Inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans committee
in 1998.
In 1948, Doby became an important piece of Cleveland's World Series victory against the Boston Braves. In Game Four of the 1948 Fall Classic, Doby became the first African American player to hit a home run in World Series history. He also helped the Indians to win 111 games and the American League pennant in 1954.
At the end of the 1955 season, Doby was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Chico Carrasquel and Jim Busby. He returned to Cleveland in 1958 for a short period of time, finishing his majors' career in 1959 with the White Sox after a brief stint with the Detroit Tigers.
Doby was a .283 career hitter with 253 home runs and 970 RBI in 1,533 games. He hit at least 20 homers in each season from 1949-56, leading the league in 1952 (32) and 1954 (32), and appearing between the top ten leaders in seven seasons (1949, 1951-56). He hit for the cycle (1952), and also led the league in runs in 1952 (104), RBI in 1954 (126), on base percentage in 1950 (.442), slugging average in 1952 (.541), and OPS in 1950 (.986).
In 1962, Doby became the third American to play professional baseball in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league, after Wally Kaname Yonamine and Don Newcombe.
After retiring, he was a coach for the Montreal Expos and the Indians, and became manager of the White Sox in the middle of the 1978 season. In a coincidental parallel, Doby was also the second black manager in the major leagues, after Frank Robinson had become the manager of Cleveland in 1975.
Born on December 13th 1923 in Camden South Carolina Larry Doby passed away on June 18th 2003 in Montclair New Jersey at the age of 79. At the time of his death then President George W. Bush made the following statement about Larry Doby.
"Larry Doby was a good and honorable man, and a tremendous athlete and manager. He had a profound influence on the game of baseball, and he will be missed. As the first African American player in the American League, he helped lead the Cleveland Indians to their last World Series title in 1948, became a nine-time All-Star and was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. Laura joins me in sending our condolences to Larry's family during this difficult time."
On August 10, 2007, the Indians paid tribute to Doby on Larry Doby Day by collectively using his number (14) on their uniforms.
Wil.
Stats from wikipedia, Baseball Reference.com and Baseball Hall of Fame.com
A good friend of mine in Vegas and myself had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Doby for approximently 30 minutes at a Vegas baseball card show........what a true gentlemen.
Bitter would not be the right word, but he made it clear that he thought he deserved much more fanfare for being the first African-American in the American Leauge and made a point that if not for a few days, he would have been the first in all of baseball. I always think of this when Jackie Robinson's name is brought up.
Believe I met him around the year 2000.....it was shocking to hear of his death just a few years later, as he was one of the very best former MLB players that I have ever had the pleasure to speak with.
FH
Bitter would not be the right word, but he made it clear that he thought he deserved much more fanfare for being the first African-American in the American Leauge and made a point that if not for a few days, he would have been the first in all of baseball. I always think of this when Jackie Robinson's name is brought up.
Believe I met him around the year 2000.....it was shocking to hear of his death just a few years later, as he was one of the very best former MLB players that I have ever had the pleasure to speak with.
FH
