Larry Doby may be best known for being the second Black player in major league baseball, and the first to integrate the American League, but he achieved far more. The Camden, S.C. native was born December 13th 1923.
Doby, a multi-sport high school athlete in Paterson, N.J., began his pro baseball career with the Negro National League’s Newark Eagles. In July 1947, months after Robinson’s history-making debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Doby made his debut for the Cleveland Indians.
In the American League, Doby endured the same violent racism and prejudice that Robinson did, handling it with as much dignity as he could. His trials, however, enjoyed less fanfare than Robinson despite their many similarities. While Doby may have been shortchanged in media coverage and notoriety in comparison to Robinson, the pair were friends. Doby admired his Dodgers counterpart and was even a pallbearer at his funeral.
(SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB)