Cleveland's Got Larry Doby, Brooklyn's Got Jackie Robinson

Everybody knows that Jackie Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Breaking baseball's color barrier 60 years ago, he was a fantastic ball player and the right person for the moment. He is in the Hall of Fame and has had his number 42 retired by every team in MLB. However there is a forgotten man in this story, Cleveland Indian Larry Doby. Larry was the first black player in the American League, entering a mere 11 weeks after Robinson. It's true Jackie paved the way for black players in all the cities he played in, but you know what? He didn't play in American League cities/parks. Doby was the first African American in all of the cities, dealing with the insults, hate, and threats all on his own.

One of Doby's game worn Jersey's

While Jackie has gotten all the accolades he deserves it took until 1998 for Doby to get elected to the HOF, and this was by the Veteran's Committee, not the sports writers. It was said in '97 when Robinson's number was being retired, and Doby's accomplishments ignored, that being the second black in baseball was like "being the second man to invent the telephone." It's not like Doby was just a black ball player, and happened to be the first in the AL. He was a 7 time All-Star, won Batting and Home Run crowns, and was also the second black manager. Doby passed away in 2003, and unfortunately continues to be a foot note in this part of Baseball's history. To me what he did was just as difficult and Cleveland's Bill Veeck would stil have signed Doby without Branch Rickey doing it first with Robinson.

To me this is just one more sign of Cleveland being a second class citizen in the world of the national sports media.