Baseball Jersey worn by Cleveland Indian Larry Doby

On July 5, 1947, outfielder Larry Doby (1923 – 2003) became the first African-American to play in the American League. Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck signed Doby a mere eleven weeks after Jackie Robinson first broke baseball's color barrier. As the second black athlete to play in the Major Leagues, Doby faced the same prejudices as Robinson, yet never received much recognition for his achievement in his lifetime.

A star in the Negro Leagues for the Newark Eagles before joining the Indians, the soft spoken Doby made the most of his 12 year Major League career, named to the All-Star team seven times and winning a World Series Championship with Cleveland in 1948. Doby's final stats include a sturdy .283 batting average, 253 home runs and 970 runs batted in. In 1962, Doby left the United States to play for the Chuchini Dragons, becoming one of the first Americans to play professionally in Japan.

In 1978, in an interesting historical coincidence, Doby became the second African-American to manage in the Majors when he was hired by the Chicago White Sox.

Although he played for a handful of clubs over the years, Doby's best days were spent in Cleveland. The Indians have retired his number 14, and in 1998 the Veterans Committee elected him into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

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