[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 91 (Thursday, June 19, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H5648]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  MOURNING THE PASSING OF LARRY DOBY, FIRST BLACK PLAYER IN AMERICAN 
                             LEAGUE HISTORY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, Hall of Famer Larry Doby, the first 
black baseball player in American League history, died last night at 
the age of 78 in his home in Montclair, New Jersey. Larry Doby was one 
of the Cleveland Indians finest centerfielders, a slugger with speed. 
He was with the Indians in one of their most successful eras, from 1947 
to 1955 during which they won two league pennants and a World Series, 
besides finishing second to the New York Yankees four times. He hit a 
decisive home run as the Indians won their last World Series in 1948. 
He led the league in home runs and runs batted in when the Indians 
romped to the American League pennant in 1954, winning 111 games, the 
fourth most in baseball history.
  Larry survived and endured many racial insults after arriving in the 
majors only 3 months after the first black player, Jackie Robinson, of 
the old Brooklyn Dodgers. He never seemed to hold any grudges because 
of the torment. Doby is quoted as saying, ``Life is too short for that. 
People who judge others based on the color of their skin have more 
problems than I do.''
  When he first stepped onto a major league field on July 3, 1947, amid 
a deluge of publicity, he was an uncertain, nervous 22-year-old. He 
knew that many fans and teammates resented his presence at Municipal 
Stadium. Doby batted only 32 times that first season and got five hits, 
a paltry .156 average. He stated, ``It was one of the toughest things I 
ever had to go through. I had never sat on the bench before and now all 
I could do was sit and watch.'' He had come up as a second baseman with 
the Newark Eagles of the Negro League where he was hitting .420. But he 
was not going to displace Joe Gordon, the team's cleanup hitter who had 
been the league's most valuable player as a member of the Yankees in 
1942.
  Doby survived because of the support he received from his late wife 
Helyn; Indians owner Bill Veeck, who brought him to the majors; 
teammates Gordon and catcher Jim Hegan, and coach Bill McKechnie. They 
were the closest to him that first year. He also was friends with the 
late Arthur Grant, the father of one of my childhood friends, Laureen 
Grant Beach. On many occasions I had an opportunity to see him and 
enjoy time with his daughter Kristie.
  As a baseball pioneer, Doby also received encouragement from black 
celebrities of the era. Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, singers 
Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington and musicians Duke 
Ellington and Count Basie were among those who contacted him.
  When centerfielder Thurman Tucker was injured in May, Indians manager 
Lou Boudreau moved Doby into his spot. He stayed there for 10 years, he 
recalled. ``The Cleveland fans were great. They never booed me, even 
when I made a mistake.''
  Doby hit .301 with 14 homers as the Indians won the 1948 pennant. In 
the playoff game against Boston for the American League flag, he belted 
two doubles. His most famous homer came in the fourth game of the 1948 
World Series at Municipal Stadium when he connected to give Steve 
Gromek a 2-1 victory and the Indians a three-games-to-one lead over the 
Boston Braves. After the game, Doby and Gromek were photographed 
hugging each other in jubilation. The picture is considered a civil 
rights milestone. It was the first widely publicized photo of two 
baseball players of different races embraced in victory.
  Doby led the Indians in hitting in the series with an average of 
.318. Players soon accepted him because of his ability. Doby, 6-1 and 
180 pounds, quickly established himself as a first-rate player. In 1950 
when he hit three homers in a game, batted .326 and drove in 102 runs, 
the Sporting News chose him as the best centerfielder in baseball, 
ahead of Joe DiMaggio and Duke Snider. He topped the league in homers, 
32, and runs batted in, 124, in the pennant year of 1954 when the 
Indians won 111 and lost 43 games for a winning percentage of .721, a 
league record that still stands.
  The Indians traded him subsequently to Chicago on October 25, 1955. 
He then with the White Sox, had a rebound, he went to Baltimore in a 
six-player deal in 1958, and then in 1959 he was sent back to Cleveland 
to play.
  Doby was chosen for seven All-Star teams in his career. His lifetime 
stats show a .283 batting average and 253 home runs.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to give credit to Bob Dolgan, the Plain 
Dealer reporter from whom I obtained a lot of this information. I hope 
that all my colleagues will join me in mourning the death of a baseball 
great, Larry Doby.

                          ____________________