[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 802 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 802

    To award a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of Lawrence Eugene 
``Larry'' Doby in recognition of his achievements and contributions to 
  American major league athletics, civil rights, and the Armed Forces 
                          during World War II.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 3, 2017

  Mr. Brown (for himself, Mr. Booker, Mr. Portman, Mr. Menendez, Mr. 
 Graham, and Mr. Scott) introduced the following bill; which was read 
  twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To award a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of Lawrence Eugene 
``Larry'' Doby in recognition of his achievements and contributions to 
  American major league athletics, civil rights, and the Armed Forces 
                          during World War II.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Larry Doby Congressional Gold Medal 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) Larry Doby was born in Camden, South Carolina, on 
        December 13, 1923, and moved to Paterson, New Jersey, in 1938, 
        where he became a standout 4 sport athlete at Paterson Eastside 
        High School;
            (2) Larry Doby attended Long Island University on a 
        basketball scholarship before enlisting in the United States 
        Navy during World War II;
            (3) upon his honorable discharge from the Navy in 1946, 
        Larry Doby played baseball in the Negro National League for the 
        Newark Eagles;
            (4) after playing the 1946 season, Larry Doby's contract 
        was purchased by the Cleveland Indians of the American League 
        on July 3, 1947;
            (5) on July 5, 1947, Larry Doby became the first African-
        American to play in the American League;
            (6) Larry Doby played in the American League for 13 years, 
        appearing in 1,533 games and batting .283, with 253 home runs 
        and 970 runs batted in;
            (7) Larry Doby was voted to 7 All-Star teams, led the 
        American League in home runs twice, and played in 2 World 
        Series;
            (8) in 1948, Larry Doby helped lead the Cleveland Indians 
        to a World Series Championship over the Boston Braves and 
        became the first African-American player to hit a home run in a 
        World Series game;
            (9) after his stellar playing career ended, Larry Doby 
        continued to make a significant contribution to his community;
            (10) Larry Doby was a pioneer in the cause of civil rights 
        and received honorary doctorate degrees from Long Island 
        University, Princeton University, and Fairfield University;
            (11) in 1978, Larry Doby became the manager of the Chicago 
        White Sox, only the second African-American manager of a Major 
        League Baseball team;
            (12) Larry Doby was the Director of Community Relations for 
        the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association, 
        where he was deeply involved in a number of inner-city youth 
        programs; and
            (13) Larry Doby was inducted to the National Baseball Hall 
        of Fame in 1998.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make 
appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, 
of a gold medal of appropriate design, in honor of Larry Doby and in 
recognition of his achievements and contributions to American major 
league athletics, civil rights, and the Armed Forces during World War 
II.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the presentation 
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred 
to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with 
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 
Secretary.
    (c) Transfer of Medal After Presentation.--Following the 
presentation of the gold medal in honor of Larry Doby pursuant to 
subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to his son, Larry Doby, 
Jr.

SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medal struck pursuant to section 2 under such regulations as the 
Secretary may prescribe, at a price sufficient to cover the cost 
thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal.

SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medals.--The medals struck under this Act are national 
medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
    (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and 5136 of 
title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.
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