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Ohio inventions and firsts · First · 1947

Larry Doby breaks the American League color barrier

Larry Doby signed with the Cleveland Indians on July 5, 1947, eleven weeks after Jackie Robinson; in 1948 he hit the first home run by a Black player in the World Series. Hall of Fame 1998.

At a glance

Year
1947
By
Lawrence Eugene 'Larry' Doby, William Louis 'Bill' Veeck Jr.
Company
Cleveland Indians
Place
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County ZIP 44114 · Cleveland · Cuyahoga County

The story

In April 1947 Jackie Robinson had broken major-league baseball's color line in the National League. The American League still had no Black player. Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck changed that.

Larry Doby signed with the Indians on July 3, 1947 and played his first major-league game on July 5, eleven weeks after Robinson. He was the first Black player in the American League and the first to go straight from the Negro leagues to the majors.

In 1948 he hit the first home run by a Black player in a World Series, and the Indians won the championship. He and teammate Satchel Paige became the first African American players on a World Series winner. Doby played in seven straight All-Star Games from 1949 to 1955, and in 1954 he led the American League with 32 home runs and 126 runs batted in while Cleveland won 111 games.

In 1978 he became the second Black manager in the majors, with the Chicago White Sox. He entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 through the Veterans Committee. Cleveland retired his number 14 and put up a bronze statue at Progressive Field in 2015, and he received a Congressional Gold Medal in 2023.

Timeline

  • 1947-07-03: Doby signs with the Cleveland Indians. (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1947-07-05: Doby makes his major-league debut. source
  • 1948: Doby hits the first World Series home run by a Black player; Cleveland wins. (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1954: He leads the AL with 32 home runs and 126 RBIs. (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1978-06-30: He becomes manager of the Chicago White Sox. source
  • 1998: Doby is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. source
  • 2015: A bronze statue is dedicated at Progressive Field. (Cleveland, OH) source

What it changed

  • First Black player in the American League.
  • Seven straight All-Star Games, 1949-1955.

Why it matters

First Black player in the AL.

Places in Ohio to see

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.