Sport: Baseball
Born: December 13, 1923
Died: June 18, 2003
Town: Paterson, New Jersey
Lawrence Eugene Doby was born December 13, 1923 in Camden, South Carolina and grew up in Paterson, NJ after his family moved north in 1936. The Dobys were a prosperous family during Larry’s early childhood. His father, David, was in high demand as a groom and worked for wealthy stable owners in the northeast. In 1931, however, he drowned while fishing. Larry moved with his mother to New Jersey when he was 12.
David Doby had been a talented semipro baseball player in his youth and Larry followed in his footsteps. Larry was 11 when he was spotted Pat Wilson, who ran an African-American semipro ball club named the Smart Sets. He played for the Smart Sets through his teen years, sharing the field with Monte Irvin, Lennie Pearson and other top young players.
Larry starred for the varsity at Paterson’s Eastside High and also earned letters in track, football and basketball. He planned to become a coach or athletic director after graduation. In the meantime, he was able to earn a few dollars playing second base for the Newark Eagles under the name Larry Walker.
Larry enrolled at LIU hoping to play basketball for coach Clair Bee. As America’s involvement in World War II deepened, however, Larry decided he wanted to go into the military as an officer, so he transferred to Virginia Union College, which had a top ROTC program. However, he was drafted into the Navy after just a few months. He was assigned to Camp Robert Smalls, the segregated section of the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, north of Chicago. There he became a physical training instructor and was able to keep his ballplaying skills sharp. Near the end of the war, Larry was transferred to the Pacific, where he became close friends with major leaguer Mickey Vernon.
Upon his return to the states, Larry heard about the Dodgers’ signing of Jackie Robinson and decided to put his coaching career on hold while giving baseball a shot. He returned to the Eagles for the 1946 season hoping to catch the eye of big-league scouts. He also married his prewar sweetheart, Helyn.
Larry led the Negro National League with 85 hits and 10 triples, and batted .365 to help Newark win the Negro League World Series. Larry recorded the final two outs at second base in the finale against the Birmingham Black barons.
Larry played the early part of 1947 for the Eagles before signing with the Cleveland Indians. On July 5, he became the first African-American player in the American League. He played sparingly that year and endured the same hostility from fans, opponents and some teammates that Robinson did. In 1948, Larry won the starting center field job and helped the Indians win the pennant with 14 homers and 66 RBIs. He played the field well and developed a reputation for clutch hitting. That fall, during Cleveland’s victory over the Boston Braves in the World Series, he became the first African-American player to hit a postseason home run.
From 1949 to 1955, Larry was an All-Star. In the years between Joe DiMaggio’s decline and Mickey Mantle’s ascent, Larry was regarded as the league’s top all-around center fielder. In 1954, the Indians blew the league apart with 111 wins and Larry finished second in the MVP voting to Yogi Berra. Larry led the AL with 32 homers and 126 RBIs. He had also won the home run crown in 1952 with 32. A disciplined hitter who liked to work deep into counts, Larry led the AL in strikeouts twice, but was also among the league leaders in on-base percentage year after year.
As a defender, Larry was adept and coming in on line drives and short fly balls. This enabled him to play deeper than most center fielders. It also put him in position to make some memorable grabs at the fence. His most famous came against the Senators in 1954 in Municipal Stadium. He speared a Tom Umphlett fly ball on the dead run as he leaped over the fence and onto the awning that shaded the bullpen. His right arm sliced right through the fabric. Larry fell back onto the field and held on for the out.
After the 1955 season, the Indians went shopping for a shortstop. The White Sox had two good ones in young Luis Aparicio and veteran Chico Carrasquel. With Larry on the other side of 30, a Doby-for-Carrasquel deal looked like it would help both clubs. Larry held up his end of the bargain, turning in his fifth 100-RBI season.
The 1957 campaign was Larry’s final one as an everyday player. Chicago traded him to the Orioles that winter, but the Indians reacquired him just before opening day. After spending 1958 with Cleveland, Larry split the 1959 campaign between the Tigers and White Sox. Although Chicago won the pennant in in 1959, Larry was not on the postseasonroster. He had been sent to Triple-A in late July, where he broke his ankle.
Although Larry attempted a comeback for several seasons, he would never see another major-league at bat. He finished his career with a .283 average and 253 homers and 970 RBIs in 1,533 games. When Negro League stats were aded to his totals
Larry’s final season as a player was 1962. He appeared in 72 games for the Chunichi Dragons and at age 38 hit 10 home runs before retiring.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Larry divided his time between working in North Jersey and coaching for the Expos, Indians and White Sox. He owned a bar and liquor store in Newark and also worked for the Essex County prosecutor for a time. In 1978, Larry reached one of his longtime goals when he was hired to manage the Chicago White Sox. He was the second African-American manager in major-league history. It would be his first and last season at the helm. After taking over from Bob Lemon 10 weeks into the season he went 37–50 the rest of the way. He was relieved of his duties that winter.
Larry went to work for Major League Baseball, filling a number of roles. In 1997, the Indians celebrated the 50th anniversary of his first game. One year later, he was voted into the Hall of Fame. Larry passed away in Montclair in 2003 at the age of 79.