[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 17, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S11707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CELEBRATING THE LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF LAWRENCE EUGENE ``LARRY'' DOBY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of H. Con. Res. 235 which was 
received from the House and is at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the concurrent 
resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 235) celebrating the 
     life and achievements of Lawrence Eugene ``Larry'' Doby.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, the Senate is poised to pass H. Con. 
Res. 235, a measure that pays tribute to a legendary American pioneer 
and a long-time friend of mine, Larry Doby, who died on June 18. I 
appreciate the willingness of the majority and minority leaders to 
expedite Senate consideration of this measure, and I applaud the 
efforts of Congressman Bill Pascrell of my home State of New Jersey, 
who introduced it in the House of Representatives.
  I first met Larry when we were thirteen or fourteen. We went to 
school together at Eastside High in my hometown, Paterson, NJ. The 
first time I saw him, he was running track, doing the broad jump. And 
he was amazing. We stayed in touch over the many years that have passed 
since then.
  Larry Doby was an exceptional athlete--one of our very best--and an 
exciting player to watch on the field. But he was much more than that; 
he was a great man and he was also a good man. He had so much dignity. 
Though Larry Doby has died, the path he blazed for African-Americans 
remains.
  Few people realize that Larry began his groundbreaking athletic 
career in 1943--at the age of 18--as the first African-American to play 
in the American Basketball League for the Paterson Panthers. He then 
moved on to baseball, playing for the Newark Eagles of the Negro 
National League. After returning from his service to the Navy for 2 
years, Larry hit .414 with 14 home runs in his final season in Newark.
  It was on July 5, 1947, just 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson broke the 
color barrier in major league baseball, that Larry Doby signed a 
contract with the Cleveland Indians of the American league. He was the 
first African-American player in the American League. Larry had no 
intention or desire to become part of history. When Indians owner Bill 
Veeck predicted to Larry that he would ``be part of history,'' Larry 
replied, ``I had no notions about that. I just wanted to play 
baseball.''
  And play baseball he did, and quite well. Larry was an All-Star seven 
times in his 13-year career. In the 1948 World Series between Cleveland 
and the Boston Braves, his home run in Game 4 broke a 1-1 tie; 
Cleveland won 2-1 and went on to win the Series in six games. He hit at 
least 20 home runs in eight straight seasons and was inducted into the 
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.
  Larry became the second African-American manager of a major league 
team when he took over as skipper of the Chicago White Sox in 1978. He 
was also the director of community relations for the New Jersey Nets in 
the late 1970s, encouraging the development of youth programs in urban 
New Jersey.
  Larry was a superb athlete, but things didn't come easy for him. When 
he joined the Indians, he was harassed by opposing players and fans. He 
was forced to eat in separate restaurants, to sleep in separate hotels. 
Some of his own teammates wouldn't even shake his hand. But he pressed 
on, and we're a better country for it.
  At the memorial service for Larry, Newark Star-Ledger sports 
columnist Jerry Izenberg recalled the day that Larry entered the Hall 
of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. The two of them paused in front of a large 
photo snapped immediately after Game 4 of the 1948 World Series--the 
game Larry won with his home run. The photo showed Larry and winning 
pitcher Steve Gromek hugging each other. Larry reminisced that the 
photo appeared on the front pages of a lot of newspapers the next day 
and said to Jerry, ``That was the first time you could see a black and 
white person embrace on the first page of papers.'' ``At the time,'' 
Jerry said, ``America needed that picture. And Larry was so proud to 
have played a part in giving America what it needed.''
  Larry said it best in a speech he gave after his career had ended. He 
said, ``We can see that baseball helped make this a better country. We 
hope baseball has given (children) some idea of what it is to live 
together and how you can get along, whether you are black or white.''
  By this resolution Congress is showing its appreciation on behalf of 
all Americans to Larry Doby for his role in breaking down racial 
barriers in baseball and in America. I'll say here what I said at his 
memorial service: ``When we stand every day for the things we believe 
in, we'll be standing for Larry Doby.'' His family will miss him. I 
will miss him. America will miss him.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
concurrent resolution and preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating 
thereto be printed in the Record, without intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 235) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.

                          ____________________