Larry Doby (1998)


Date of Birth: 12/13/1923
Date of Death: 6/18/2003
Birthplace: Camden, South Carolina

Larry Doby was a star athlete in high school, playing baseball, basketball, and football. In the summers, he played semi-pro baseball. He started playing professional baseball with the Negro Leagues in 1942. After two seasons, he joined the US Navy in 1943 and he served through 1946.

Cleveland Indians

In 1947, Bill Veeck, owner of the Cleveland Indians bought Doby's contract and Doby became the first African-American player in the American League and the second, after Jackie Robinson, in major league baseball. He played in 29 games with the Indians in 1947.

One year after being signed by the Indians, Doby was playing full-time as an outfielder for the team. In 1948, he batted .301 with 132 hits, 23 doubles, 9 triples, 14 home runs, and 66 RBIs in 121 games. The next year, he batted .280 with 153 hits, 25 doubles, 24 home runs, 85 RBIs, and 90 strikeouts to 91 walks in 147 games.

Doby led the AL in on-base percentage and OPS in 1950. He had career highs in hits (164) and batting average (.326). He finished the season with 25 doubles, 25 home runs, 102 RBIs, 71 strikeouts to 98 walks, an on-base percentage of .442, and an OPS of .987 in 142 games. In 1951, he had a career high 27 doubles in 134 games. He batted .295 with 132 hits, 20 home runs, and 69 RBIs. He struck out 81 times and walked 101 times.

Doby led the AL in home runs in 1952. He had 143 hits, 26 doubles, a career high 32 home runs, 104 RBIs, 111 strikeouts to 90 walks, and a .276 batting average in 140 games. In 1953, he had a .263 batting average in 149 games. He had 135 hits, 18 doubles, 29 home runs, and 102 RBIs.

Doby led the AL in home runs and RBIs in 1954. He had career highs in games played (153), home runs (32), and RBIs (126). He batted .272 that season. The next year, his batting average went up to .291. He finished the 1955 season with 143 hits, 17 doubles, 26 home runs, and 75 RBIs in 131 games.

Chicago White Sox

The Indians traded Doby to the Chicago White Sox in October, 1955. In his first season in Chicago, he batted .268 in 140 games. He finished the 1956 season with 135 hits, 22 doubles, 24 home runs, and 102 RBIs. He struck out 105 times and he walked 102 times.

Doby played in just 119 games in 1957. He had 120 hits, a career high 27 doubles, 14 home runs, 79 RBIs, and a .288 batting average.

Return to the Indians

After two seasons in Chicago, the White Sox traded Doby to the Baltimore Orioles. However, he never played with the Orioles because they traded him to the Indians on April 1, 1958.

Doby played in just 89 games in 1958. He batted .283 with 70 hits and 13 home runs.

Final Years as a Player

In March of 1959, the Indians traded Doby to the Detroit Tigers and he became the first African-American player for Detroit. After just 18 games with the Tigers, they traded Doby back to the White Sox and he ended his career in 1959 with 21 games with Chicago.

Career Statistics

Statistics for Doby in 13 seasons (1947-1959) in the major leagues include:

  • 3 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 164 in 1950
  • 8 seasons with 20 or more home runs, with a high of 32 in 1952 and 1954
  • 5 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 126 in 1954
  • 2 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .326 in 1950

Career batting statistics for Doby include:

  • 1,533 games played
  • 1,515 hits
  • 243 doubles
  • 253 home runs
  • 970 RBIs
  • 1,011 strikeouts to 871 walks
  • .283 batting average
  • .386 on-base percentage
  • .876 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Doby as a center fielder include:

  • 1,330 games played
  • 3,393 putouts
  • 50 errors
  • .986 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

Doby retired as a major league player prior to the 1960 season. Nine years later, he returned to the major leagues as a scout and minor league instructor with the Montreal Expos. From 1971 through 1973, he was the batting coach for the Expos. In 1974, he returned to the Indians as a coach but two years later, he was back coaching with the Expos.

In 1977, Doby returned to the White Sox, this time as their batting coach. At the end of June, 1978, he finally had the chance to manage. He spent the rest of the season as manager of the White Sox, ending his only season as a major league manager with a 37-50 record. The following season, Doby returned to coaching with the White Sox for one season.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Larry Doby
ESPN - Larry Doby
Baseball Reference - Larry Doby

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