[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 45 (Wednesday, April 16, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3299-S3300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF LARRY DOBY'S JOINING THE AMERICAN LEAGUE

 Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, another season of baseball is 
underway, and all of us are enjoying the crack of a bat on a hard hit 
ball and the thrill of a stolen base. But while this season has brought 
us the familiar sights and sounds, it also recalls a very special 
anniversary. Nineteen ninety-seven marks the 50th anniverary of the 
breaking of major league baseball's color barrier.
  In April 1947, Jackie Robinson played his first game with the 
National League's Brooklyn Dodgers and ended segregation in our 
national pastime; simultaneously, he entered America's pantheon of 
heroes.
  Mr. President, while we rightfully honor Mr. Robinson, we cannot 
forget that heroes rarely fight their battles alone. Unfortunately, we 
have largely ignored those other African-American baseball players who 
broke that barrier with Robinson.
  Only 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson first graced a major league 
baseball diamond, Larry Doby, of Paterson, N.J., took the field with 
the Cleveland Indians, becoming the first African-American player in 
the American League. Once on the team, he brought an ability and a 
consistency to the game which few could match. He was the first 
African-American player to hit a home run in a World Series, and he was 
named to six straight American League All-Star teams. During his 13-
year career, he attained a .283 lifetime batting average and hit 253 
home runs.
  But Larry Doby was not only an exciting player, he was also a 
courageous individual. He ignored the vile epithets hurled at him by 
both fans in the stands and opposing players on the field. After a road 
game, his teammates would go back to their hotel and make plans for the 
evening. Thanks to specter of Jim Crow, Mr. Doby would have to go, 
alone, to his own dingy hotel room in the black part of town.
  Because of the manner in which he handled such adversity, many other 
African-American players followed him to the major leagues, and we all 
learned that, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, we must judge a 
person on the content of his character and not the color of his skin. 
In a recent New York Times article, Mr. Doby himself observed, ``If 
Jack and I had a legacy, it is to show that teamwork, the ability to 
associate and communicate, makes all of us stronger.'' And by their 
example, Mr. President, we definitely are a stronger nation.
  Mr. President, Larry Doby is rightfully called a legend for his 
consistency on the field and a hero for his character off the field. 
But I have the privilege of also calling him a friend. We grew up 
together on the working class streets of Paterson, N.J. As working 
class kids, we shared a simple philosophy--if you do what you love, and 
you do it well, that's its own reward. And that reminds me of one of my 
favorite anecdotes about Larry.
  After his first game in July 1947, the owner of the Cleveland 
Indians, the renowned Bill Veeck, told Larry, ``You

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are going to make history.'' Doby recalls that he thought to himself, 
``History? I just want to play baseball.''
  In 1975, Larry became the manager of the Chicago White Sox. Today, at 
the age of 72, he is still involved with the game, working for major 
league baseball in its Manhattan offices. But at one time, he was an 
American who just wanted to play baseball. And, given the opportunity, 
he played with skill and grace--and he made history.
  When it comes to Larry, others may have filled his uniform, but no 
one will ever be able to fill his shoes. Larry Doby proves that good 
and great can exist in the same individual.

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