Doby joined the major leagues three months after Jackie Robinson and faced much of the same harsh treatment. He would have turned 100 years old on Wednesday.
The second Black baseball player to break the major league’s color barrier posthumously received the
In 1948, a year after following in Robinson’s footsteps, Doby became the first Black baseball player to smash a home run in a World Series game when Cleveland won the championship.
He helped pioneer Black management in the major leagues after retiring as a player, becoming baseball’s second Black manager when the White Sox appointed him in 1978, following the now-late Frank Robinson, who began managing the Indians in 1975 after a stellar career playing. Robinson died in 2019.
“Larry Doby will forever be remembered as a pioneer who demonstrated great character and courage throughout his life,” said Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred in a statement. “His legacy as a trailblazing player and manager endures to this day, and he will always remain one of the great heroes that our national pastime and nation have ever known.”
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