Doby, Larry (1924-2003), was the first African American baseball player in the American League. Doby, an outstanding hitter and outfielder, made his major league debut with the Cleveland Indians (now called the Cleveland Guardians) on July 5, 1947. Jackie Robinson had already broken the racial barrier in baseball. Robinson played his first major league game on April 15, 1947, with the Brooklyn (now Los Angeles) Dodgers of the National League.
Doby was the first Black player to lead a major league in home runs, with 32 in 1952. He also led the American League in home runs in 1954 with 32, and in runs batted in with 126. Doby played in Cleveland from 1947 through 1955 and again in 1958. In 1956 and 1957, he played with the Chicago White Sox. Doby finished his major league career in 1959 with the Detroit Tigers and the White Sox. His career batting average in 1,533 games was .283 with 253 home runs and 970 runs batted in.
In 1962, Doby became the third American to play professional baseball in Japan, after Wally Kaname Yonamine and Don Newcombe. Doby managed the White Sox for the last half of the 1978 season, becoming the second Black manager in the major leagues following Frank Robinson of Cleveland in 1975.
Lawrence Eugene Doby was born on Dec. 13, 1924, in Camden, South Carolina. He played for the Newark Eagles, a Negro league team, before being signed by Cleveland. Doby was an infielder in 1947 but switched to the outfield for the 1948 season. Doby was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. He died on June 18, 2003. In 2023, Doby was posthumously (after his death) awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor given by the United States Congress.
