Larry Doby: First African American to Play in American League is Enshrined in Baseball's Hall of Fame

Although it was Jackie Robinson's number (42) that was retired by Major League Baseball in tribute of his being the first African American to play in the major leagues in the 20^th century, there were many African American athletes who would willingly have taken the chances Jackie did to be the trailblazer. And many of these players would have done as good a job, though none likely could have done it better. However, the elevation of Robinson to demigod status in the past 10 years shortchanges the memory of the player who DID do the job of integrating baseball, contemporaneously with Robinson, in the junior circuit.

Larry Doby made his debut with the Cleveland Indians on July 5, 1947, less than three months after Robinson broke baseball's color bar with the Brooklyn Dodgers. In his 13 season in the major leagues, Doby was an All-Star seven times and was on two World Series teams during the years when the Yankees dominated the American League. Doby's Indians made it to the autumn classic in 1948 (the Indians' last crown as world's champs) and in 1954. (From 1947 until 1964, Doby's Indians and the '59 White Sox that he played his final 21 games for before retiring were the only teams other than the Yankees to win the American League pennant.)

In the '48 campaign, Doby led the AL in homers and RBI and came in second in the MVP balloting to three-time winner 'Yogi Berra' (qv), the Yankee great. Berra was a member of the Veterans Committee that belatedly voted Doby into the Hall of Fame in 1998, 39 years after he retired.

According to Yogi, "Larry Doby could do everything -- hit, run, field and throw."

Indeed, it did appear that Larry Doby could do anything. He lead the Negro National League in hitting and home runs as a rookie with the Newark Eagles in 1942. (Doby is one of only six players to be an

All-Star in both the Negro Leagues and in Major League Baseball.) The next year, Doby became the first black to play in the American Basketball League (which evolved into the NBA) as a member of the Paterson Panthers.