"I Was Put Here to Make a Contribution to Baseball": The Public Commemoration of Larry Doby, 1947-2007
Eleven weeks after Jackie Robinson broke the color line in major league baseball's National League, Larry Doby desegregated the American League as he stepped onto the field with the Cleveland Indians on July 5, 1947. Since 1947, Robinson has most prominently captured the public imagination and received the majority of the public's accolades, however Doby's baseball career is full of numerous highlights. Doby played thirteen seasons in the major leagues, ten with the Indians. He compiled a lifetime batting average of .283, totaled 253 home runs, produced 970 runs batted in, boasted a .983 lifetime fielding average, and was a member of the American League All-Star team seven years in a row, becoming the first African American to claim that honor in 1949. Doby led the Indians to two World Series appearances and one win. He also helped the Chicago White Sox reach the World Series in 1959. In the Negro Leagues, Doby played two seasons, was a two-time all star, and is one of only four players to have played in both the Major League and Negro League World Series. Once his playing career ended, Doby struggled to become the first African American manager in the major leagues, a quest in which he again finished second to another Robinson: Frank Robinson.Just as Doby's entry into major league baseball occurred shortly after that of Robinson, so too have efforts to commemorate Doby's contributions to baseball and to civil rights followed shortly behind and paled in comparison. Doby is perhaps underappreciated because he was second. However, since his American League debut with the Cleveland Indians American journalists, on both local and national levels, have revealed the public's impulse to commemorate Doby's career and to pay tribute to his larger historical significance. The public dialogue surrounding Larry Doby's career, printed in national publications such as the USA Today and in local papers from Missouri, Texas, South Carolina, and Ohio reflect cultural values pertaining to race and sport. These publications reveal how the Cleveland Indians' decision to desegregate of baseball in the North created obstacles for Doby as he dealt with the prejudices of teammates and opponents, particularly those from the South
Journalists devoted coverage to Doby's career, his quest to become the first African American to manage in the major leagues, and his public commemoration in major anniversary years, consequently revealing the public desire to commemorate Doby's role in challenging racism in the United States. During Doby's first season, public concern shifted from shock, displeasure, or approval of his feat to an emphasis the extent to which African Americans would penetrate the major league color line. In the 1960s and 1970s, Doby was a victim of the informal racism that persisted on major league baseball's playing field and in its front offices as he sought to become the first African American manager. Finally, Doby's belated induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and efforts to memorialize his life continue to draw attention to the fact that in the present day, African Americans constitute a minority of players in the major leagues. Throughout the years, Southern cities such as Camden, South Carolina; Arlington, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Memphis, Tennessee have highlighted the importance of Doby's role in integrating baseball and challenging the structure of Jim Crow America, drawing attention to the extent to which racism shaped acceptable notions of who could play baseball and who could manage its clubs. In addition to highlighting the importance to Doby's baseball career, newspapers use Doby's life to call attention to the dwindling number of African Americans playing the game today, revealing the importance of perpetuating the memory of Larry Doby in order to inspire black athletes to take the field.
Angela Zombek, University of Florida