Lawrence E (Larry) Doby was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame class of 1998 along with George Davis, Lee MacPhail, Bullet Rogan and Don Sutton. Doby started his career playing in the Negro Leagues with the Newark Eagles (1942-1943, 1946-1947). He missed the 1944-1945 seasons serving in the United States Navy during World War II. While the stats are incomplete Doby was credited with hitting .304/.342/.468 with 8 HR, 62 R, 8 SB in the Negro Leagues. He was the Negro League batting champ in 1942 (.427). Doby won the Negro World Series Championship with Newark in 1946.
Doby was an outfielder with 13 seasons MLB experience playing with the Cleveland Indians (1947-1955, 1958), Chicago White Sox (1956-1957, 1959) and Detroit Tigers (1959). Doby helped break the color barrier in the American League when he was the first black player to sign after Jackie Robinson signed with the Dodgers in the National League. For his MLB career he hit .283/.386/.490 with 253 HR, 970 RBI, 960 R, 47 SB in 1533 games.
I believe his three best seasons were 1954 when he hit .272/.364/.484 with 32 HR, 126 RBI, 94 R, 3 SB in 153 games, 1950 when he hit .326/.442/.545 with 25 HR, 102 RBI, 110 R, 8 SB in 142 games and 1952 when he hit .276/.383/.541 with 32 HR, 104 RBI, 104 R, 5 SB in 140 games.
Doby led the American League in home runs in 1952 and 1954. He led the AL in RBI in 1954. He led the AL in runs in 1952.
He was an All Star seven times (1949-1955). Doby won the World Series Championship with the Indians in 1948. Doby served as the White Sox manager in 1978 with a 37-50 record.
Hall of Fame page
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