Larry Doby

Lawrence Eugene Doby (December 13, 1923 – June 18, 2003) was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball, the second black player to break baseball's color barrier and the first in the American League. A native of Camden, South Carolina, Doby was a three-sport all-state athlete while in high school in Paterson, New Jersey, and accepted a basketball scholarship from Long Island University. At seventeen, he began his professional baseball career with the Newark Eagles as the team's second baseman. He joined the United States Navy during World War II. Returning to baseball in 1946, Doby, along with teammate Monte Irvin, helped the Eagles win the Negro League World Series.

In July 1947, three months after Jackie Robinson debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Doby broke the color barrier in the American League when he signed with Bill Veeck's Cleveland Indians. He was the first player to go directly to the majors from the Negro leagues. A center fielder, Doby was named to seven All-Star teams. He and teammate Satchel Paige were the first African-American players to win a World Series.