Editing Larry Doby (section)

==Major League Baseball career==

===Integration of American League (1947)===
[[Cleveland Indians]] owner and team president [[Bill Veeck]] proposed integrating baseball in 1942, which had been [[baseball color line|informally segregated]] since the turn of the century, but this was rejected by [[Commissioner of Baseball|Commissioner]] [[Kenesaw Mountain Landis]].<ref name="Moore" />{{rp|p.19}} Veeck had begun the process of finding a young, talented player from the Negro leagues, and told a reporter in Cleveland that he would integrate the Indians' roster if he could find a black player with the necessary talent level who could withstand the taunts and pressure of being the first black athlete in the AL. The reporter suggested Doby, whom Veeck had seen at the Great Lakes Naval Training School. Doby's name was also mentioned when Veeck talked with reporters who covered the Negro leagues.<ref name="Tygiel" />{{rp|p.4}} Indians scout Bill Killefer rated Doby favorably and perhaps just as important for Veeck, reported Doby's off-field behavior was not a concern.<ref name="Bechtel" /> The Dodgers rated Doby their top young Negro league prospect.<ref name="Tygiel" />{{rp|p.4}} But unlike the [[History of the Brooklyn Dodgers|Brooklyn Dodgers']] [[Branch Rickey]], who signed Robinson one full season before bringing him to the [[National League (baseball)|National League]], Veeck used a different strategy, letting Doby remain with the Eagles instead of bringing him through the Indians' farm system. He told the ''Pittsburgh Courier'', "One afternoon when the team trots out on the field, a Negro player will be out there with it."<ref name="Tygiel" />{{rp|p.4}}

While Rickey declined to pay for the purchasing rights of Robinson while he played for the Kansas City Monarchs, Veeck was "determined to buy Doby's contract from the Eagles" and had no problem paying purchasing rights.<ref name="Beisbol">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qoqyGjsXYnwC&q=larry+dobby+effa+manley+bill+veeck+contract&pg=PA37|title=Béisbol|editor=Ilan Stavans|series=The Ilan Stavans Library of Latino Civilization|year=2012|isbn=978-0-313-37513-2|publisher=Greenwood|location=Santa Barbara, California}}</ref>{{rp|p.37}} Effa Manley, business manager for the Eagles, believed her club's close relationship with the [[New York Yankees]] might put Doby in a Yankees uniform, but they did not take interest in him. Veeck finalized a contract deal for Doby with Manley on July 3. Veeck paid her a total of $15,000 for her second baseman—$10,000 for taking him from the Eagles and another $5,000 once it was determined he would stay with the Indians for at least 30 days.<ref name="Cooperstown_Simons">{{cite book|title=The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2000|editor=Alvin L. Hall|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|last=Simons|first=William M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OT2oXO8-5KwC&q=larry+dobby+effa+manley+bill+veeck+contract&pg=PA288|isbn=0-7864-1120-1|date=May 1, 2001}}</ref>{{rp|p.288}} After Manley agreed to Veeck's offer, she stated to him, "If Larry Doby were white and a free agent, you'd give him $100,000 to sign as a bonus."<ref name="Beisbol" />{{rp|p.37}} The press were not told that Doby had been signed by the Indians as Veeck wanted to manage how fans in Cleveland would be introduced to Doby. "I moved slowly and carefully, perhaps even timidly", Veeck said.<ref name="Tygiel" />{{rp|p.4}} The Eagles had a doubleheader on July 4 but Doby, who had a .415 batting average and 14 home runs to that point in the season, only played in the first as Veeck sent his assistant and public relations personnel member, Louis Jones, for Doby. The two took a train from Newark to Chicago where the Indians were scheduled to play the [[Chicago White Sox]] the next day.<ref name="Tygiel" />{{rp|p.4}}

On July 5, with the Indians in Chicago in the midst of a road trip, Doby made his debut as the second black baseball player after Robinson to play in the majors after establishment of the baseball color line. Veeck hired two plainclothes police officers to accompany Doby as he went to [[Comiskey Park]].<ref name="Moffi">{{cite book|title=Crossing the Line: Black Major Leaguers, 1947–1959|last1=Moffi|first1=Larry|last2=Kronstadt|first2=Jonathan|page=16|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jRHgMttlKDIC&q=larry+doby&pg=PA9|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|location=Lincoln, Nebraska|isbn=0-8032-8316-4|year=2006}}</ref>{{rp|p.16}} Player-manager [[Lou Boudreau]] initially had a hard time finding a place in the lineup for Doby, who had played second base and shortstop for most of his career. Boudreau himself was the regular shortstop, while [[Joe Gordon]] was the second baseman.<ref>{{cite book|title=Our Tribe: A Baseball Memoir|last=Pluto|first=Terry|author-link=Terry Pluto|location=New York City|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1999|isbn=0-684-84505-9}}</ref> That day, Doby met his new teammates for the first time. "I walked down that line, stuck out my hand, and very few hands came back in return. Most of the ones that did were cold-fish handshakes, along with a look that said, 'You don't belong here", Doby reminisced years later.<ref name="Cold">{{cite news|url=http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/izenbergcol/index.ssf/2012/07/izenberg_larry_doby_should_be.html|title=Larry Doby should be honored by Newark|last=Izenberg|first=Jerry|work=[[The Star-Ledger|Newark Star-Ledger]]|date=July 7, 2012|access-date=July 12, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Ohio">{{cite web|url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1828|title=Ohio History Central – Larry Doby|access-date=July 14, 2012}}</ref> Four of Doby's teammates did not shake his hand, and of those, two turned their backs to Doby when he tried to introduce himself.<ref name="Anderson">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/20/sports/sports-of-the-times-larry-doby-understands-handshakes.html|title=Larry Doby Understands Handshakes|last=Anderson|first=Dave|date=April 20, 1995|access-date=July 29, 2012|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> During warm-ups, Doby languished for minutes while his teammates interacted with one another. Not until [[Joe Gordon]] asked Doby to play catch with him was Doby given the chance to engage. Gordon befriended Doby and became one of his closest friends on the team.<ref name="Vincent">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/sports/baseball/22VINC.html|title=Larry Doby Played with Dignity and Without Bitterness|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 22, 2003|access-date=July 29, 2012|author=Vincent, Fay}}</ref>

Doby entered the game in the seventh inning as a [[Pinch hitter|pinch-hitter]] for relief pitcher [[Bryan Stephens]] and recorded a strikeout. In the 1949 movie ''The Kid from Cleveland'', Veeck tells the story that Gordon struck out on three swings in his immediate at-bat after Doby to save face for his new teammate. However, Doby's second strike was the result of a foul ball, both the [[Associated Press]] and ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' stated Doby struck out on five pitches instead of three, and in addition, Gordon was standing on third base during Doby's at-bat.<ref name="Castrovince" /> From ''Pride and Prejudice: The Biography of Larry Doby'':

<blockquote>After the game, Doby quickly showered and dressed without incident in the Cleveland clubhouse. His escort, Louis Jones, then took him not to the Del Prado Hotel downtown, where the Indians players stayed, but to the black DuSable Hotel in Chicago's predominantly black South Side, near Comiskey Park. The segregated arrangement established a pattern, on Doby's first day, that he would be compelled to follow, in spring training and during the regular season, in many cities, throughout his playing career.<ref name="Moore" />{{rp|p.52}}</blockquote>

The Indians had a doubleheader against the White Sox on Sunday, July 6, for which 31,566 were in attendance; it was estimated that approximately 30 percent of the crowd were black. Some congregations of black churches let out early while others walked immediately from Sunday service to Comiskey Park.<ref name="Moore" />{{rp|p.53}} Boudreau had Doby pinch-hit in the first game but for the second, listed him a starter at first base, a position Doby was not expected to fill when the Indians brought him up to play at second base. Doby had played the position before with the Eagles but was without a proper mitt for first base and met much resistance when attempts were made to borrow one from teammates, including first baseman [[Eddie Robinson (baseball)|Eddie Robinson]], whom Boudreau had asked Doby to replace that day.<ref name="Jacobson" />{{rp|p.32}} Doby said only because Gordon asked in the clubhouse to borrow one of the first baseman's mitts did he have one to use in the second game of the doubleheader as earlier direct requests from Doby were rejected.<ref name="Anderson" /> The mitt was loaned by a White Sox player.<ref name="Jacobson" />{{rp|p.32}} Boudreau recounts an incident where Robinson refused the mitt to Doby, but when asked by Indians traveling secretary Spud Goldstein, Robinson obliged.<ref name="Boudreau">{{cite book|title=Lou Boudreau: Covering All the Bases|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8eSUdoov0AEC&q=larry+doby+gordon+cobbledick&pg=PA97|last1=Boudreau|first1=Lou|last2=Schneider|first2=Russell|year=1993|isbn=0-915611-72-4|publisher=Sagamore Publishing|location=Chicago}}</ref>{{rp|p.96}} It was the only game Doby started for the remainder of the season. Doby recorded his first major league hit in four at-bats and had an RBI in a 5–1 Indians win.<ref name="Encyclopedia">{{cite book|title=The Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia|edition=Third|year=2004|location=Champaign, Illinois|publisher=Sports Publishing|last=Schneider|first=Russell|isbn=1-58261-840-2|page=435}}</ref>

A columnist wrote in the ''[[Plain Dealer]]'' on July 8: "Cleveland's man in the street is the right sort of American, as was evidenced right solidly once more by the response to the question: 'How does the signing of Larry Doby by the Indians strike you? Said the man in the street: Can he hit?&nbsp;... That's all that counts."<ref name="Cooperstown">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zePVsAMiC10C&q=larry+doby+&pg=PA120|title=The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 1997 (Jackie Robinson)|last=Hall|first=Alvin|editor=Peter M. Rutkoff|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=0-7864-0831-6|year=2000}}</ref>{{rp|p.114}} Conversely, Doby was criticized from players both active and retired. Noted former player [[Rogers Hornsby]] said, after watching Doby play one time in 1947:

<blockquote>Bill Veeck did the Negro race no favor when he signed Larry Doby to a Cleveland contract. If Veeck wanted to demonstrate that the Negro has no place in major league baseball, he could have used no subtler means to establish the point. If he were white he wouldn't be considered good enough to play with a semi-pro club. He is fast on his feet but that lets him out. He hasn't any other quality that could possibly recommend him.<ref name="Swaine">{{cite book|title=The Integration of Major League Baseball: A Team by Team History|last=Swaine|first=Rick|isbn=978-0-7864-3903-4|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|publisher=McFarland & Company|year=2009}}</ref>{{rp|p.69}}</blockquote>

In his rookie year, Doby hit .156 (5-for-32) in 29 games. He played four games at second base and one each at first base and shortstop.<ref name="Boudreau" />{{rp|p.98}} Throughout the season, he talked with Jackie Robinson via telephone, the two encouraging each other.<ref name="Bechtel">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/vault/2003/06/30/345718/the-next-one-larry-doby1923-2003-after-jackie-robinson-doby-blazed-a-trail-of-his-own|title=The Next One|last=Bechtel|first=Mark|date=June 30, 2003|access-date=May 26, 2016|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.courant.com/1997/04/15/larry-doby-remembers-being-introduced-to/|newspaper=[[Hartford Courant]]|date=April 15, 1997|last=Amore|first=Dom|access-date=July 30, 2012|title=Larry Doby Remembers Being Introduced To|archive-date=April 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415011046/http://articles.courant.com/1997-04-15/sports/9704150685_1_larry-doby-jackie-robinson-modern-major-leagues|url-status=live}}</ref> "And Jackie and I agreed we shouldn't challenge anybody or cause trouble—or we'd both be out of the big leagues, just like that. We figured that if we spoke out, we would ruin things for other black players."<ref name="Prugh">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vXIjAAAAIBAJ&pg=7308,5698498&dq=larry+doby+japan&hl=en|newspaper=[[Sarasota Herald-Tribune]]|date=May 12, 1974|access-date=August 25, 2012|last=Prugh|first=Jeff|title=Larry Doby Patiently Waiting for Chance to Manage}}</ref> After his rookie season, Doby again pursued time on the basketball court and appeared with the [[Paterson Crescents]] of the [[American Basketball League (1925–1955)|American Basketball League]] after signing a contract in January 1948.<ref name="Moore" />{{rp|p.67}}<ref name="Luke" />{{rp|p.147}} He was the first black player to join the league.<ref name="Moffi" />{{rp|p.16}}

===Cleveland Indians===

====1948–1950====
{{Quote box
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|quote=He was a great American, served the country in World War II, and he was a great ballplayer. He was kind of like [[Buzz Aldrin]], the second man on the moon, because he was the second African-American in the majors behind Jackie Robinson. He was just as good of a ballplayer, an exciting player, and a very good teammate.
|source=—Hall of Famer [[Bob Feller]], teammate with Doby 1947–55<ref name="Comments">{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20030619&content_id=383011&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=null|title=Comments about and from Larry Doby|work=[[Major League Baseball|MLB.com]]|date=June 19, 2003|access-date=July 14, 2012}}</ref>
}}

In 1948, Doby experienced his first spring training with the Indians in [[Tucson, Arizona]]. Unlike their white teammates, Doby, along with [[Satchel Paige]] and [[Minnie Miñoso]], were not permitted to stay at the nearby Santa Rita hotel but instead stayed with a local black family and used a rental car provided by the Indians for transportation.<ref name="Ebony" />{{rp|p.71}} During spring training, Doby read books concerning outfield play, and received instruction and encouragement from former Indians manager [[Tris Speaker]] and Indians' farm system director [[Hank Greenberg]].<ref name="Ebony" /> Doby also credited Indians [[Coach (baseball)|coach]] [[Bill McKechnie]] with helping him adjust to the majors and learning the outfield.<ref name="Anderson" /> In an exhibition game in Houston against the [[New York Giants (MLB)|New York Giants]], Doby hit a home run that "may have traveled 500 feet before landing far beyond the fence in center field."<ref name="Experience">{{cite book|url=http://testaae.greenwood.com/doc_print.aspx?fileID=MPJ&chapterID=MPJ-878&path=books/greenwood|title=The African American Experience: Pride Against Prejudice: The Biography of Larry Doby|last=Moore|first=Joseph Thomas|location=Westport, Connecticut|publisher=Praeger Publishers|date=August 23, 2012|access-date=August 24, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523041835/http://testaae.greenwood.com/doc_print.aspx?fileID=MPJ&chapterID=MPJ-878&path=books%2Fgreenwood|archive-date=May 23, 2013}}</ref> As Moore wrote in his biography of Doby, "With that home run, all doubts that Doby would make the 1948 Cleveland team vanished.<ref name="Experience" /> That year, he played in 121 games and hit .301 for the season with 14 home runs and 66 RBIs.<ref name="Ebony" />{{rp|p.71}} Throughout the regular season Doby was racially abused by opposing teams, and Veeck asked AL president [[Will Harridge]] for support in getting players to rein in their animosity towards Doby.<ref name="Ebony" />{{rp|p.71}}

Doby played a major role in Cleveland's [[1948 World Series|World Series]] victory against the [[Atlanta Braves#History|Boston Braves]]. In Game 4 on October 9, Doby hit the first home run by a black player in World Series history.<ref name="Dream" /> A picture featuring an embrace between Doby and white teammate [[Steve Gromek]], who had pitched a complete game that day, was on the cover of the next day's ''Plain Dealer''.<ref name="Guys" /> [[Richard Goldstein (writer born 1942)|Richard Goldstein]] of ''The New York Times'' called the photograph "a signature moment in the integration of Major League Baseball."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/23/sports/steve-gromek-82-a-pitcher-who-is-best-known-for-a-picture.html|last=Goldstein|first=Richard|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 23, 2012|access-date=August 4, 2012|title=Steve Gromek, 82, a Pitcher Who Is Best Known for a Picture}}</ref> Of the picture, Doby said, "The picture was more rewarding and happy for me than actually hitting the home run. The picture finally showed a moment of a man showing his feelings for me."<ref name="Man">{{cite book|title=The Best Man Plays: Major League Baseball and the Black Athlete, 1901–2002|last=O'Toole|first=Andrew|url=https://archive.org/details/bestmanplaysmajo0000otoo|url-access=registration|page=68 |year=2003|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=9780786414949}}</ref>{{rp|p.66}} The Indians defeated the Braves in six games and with it, Cleveland had its first World Series championship since the 1920 season. Doby's .318 batting average during the Series led the Indians. Nationally syndicated columnist [[Grantland Rice]] argued that without Doby and [[Gene Bearden]], who had won 20 games that year, the Indians would have finished in fourth or fifth place.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rice |first=Grantland |date=1949-03-22 |title=Top Rookies of 1949 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-news-top-rookies-of-1949/166545969/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |work=The Miami News |page=4B |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> After the Series, Doby received a celebratory parade in Paterson, New Jersey, and during the offseason he, along with other teammates, appeared in the 1949 film ''[[The Kid From Cleveland]]''.<ref name="Lew" />{{rp|p.115}} With additional income available due to the post-season run and Series championship, Doby and his wife attempted to buy a home in Paterson in an all-white neighborhood but were kept out by a petition from members of the community. The Dobys were allowed to purchase their desired home when the Paterson city mayor intervened on their behalf.<ref name="Man" />{{rp|p.67}}

[[File:Larry Doby 1951.jpg|right|thumb|190px|A 1951 Bowman trading card of Doby]]
During the 1949 season, Doby was selected to his first [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|MLB All-Star Game]]. He was one of five Indians selected by Boudreau and joined Jackie Robinson, [[Roy Campanella]] and [[Don Newcombe]] as the first black players to be amongst those chosen to participate in the [[1949 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1949 All-Star Game]].<ref name="Classic">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6IqPLQE4HekC&q=larry+doby&pg=PA105|title=The Midsummer Classic: The Complete History of Baseball's All-Star Game|last1=Vincent|first1=David|last2=Spatz|first2=Lyle|last3=Smith|first3=David W.|year=2001|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|location=Lincoln, Nebraska|isbn=0-8032-9273-2}}</ref> Boudreau fined Doby after he attempted to steal home with no outs and bases loaded in a game against the Yankees on July 20. Of the fine, Boudreau said, "It was not based only on that attempt to steal home. Larry has taken several unnecessary chances lately. This should make him more careful."<ref>{{Cite news|newspaper=[[Evening Independent]]|date=July 21, 1949|access-date=August 25, 2012|title=Doby Fined By Boudreau After Boner|agency=Associated Press|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zr8LAAAAIBAJ&pg=3706,1507222&dq=larry+doby+fined&hl=en}}</ref> His home run (24) and RBI (85) totals increased during the 1949 season, and by 1950, he was considered the best center fielder in the game by ''[[Sporting News|The Sporting News]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.phillytrib.com/sports/baseball/baseball-great-doby-receives-postage-stamp.html|title=Baseball Great Doby Receives Postage Stamp|date=April 5, 2012|access-date=July 14, 2012|newspaper=[[Philadelphia Tribune]]|last=Hunt|first=Donald|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140413203318/http://www.phillytrib.com/sports/baseball/baseball-great-doby-receives-postage-stamp.html|archive-date=April 13, 2014}}</ref> By the first week in July, Doby's .370 batting average trailed only 1949 AL batting champion [[George Kell]], who had a .375 average.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SmpgAAAAIBAJ&pg=3156,756772&dq=larry+doby+1950+season&hl=en|access-date=August 21, 2012|date=July 4, 1950|newspaper=[[Star-News|The Wilmington News]]|agency=Associated Press|title=Kell Tops Doby in AL Hitting by Five Points}}</ref> He earned career-bests in batting average (.326), hits (164) and [[on-base percentage]] (OBP) (.442), while playing in 142 games. Doby hit the 100-RBI mark (102) for the first time in his career while his OBP led the AL. He finished eighth in AL MVP voting, highest among outfielders.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gBAmAAAAIBAJ&pg=1904,4751663&dq=larry+doby+1950+season&hl=en|title=Rizzuto Voted Most Valuable|last=Hand|first=Jack|access-date=August 24, 2012|date=October 27, 1950|newspaper=[[Tampa Bay Times|St. Petersburg Times]]|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> At the end of the season, Cleveland signed him to a new, more lucrative contract.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kLYhAAAAIBAJ&pg=3689,3156103&dq=larry+doby+1951+season&hl=en|title=Larry Doby Signs for Handsome Raise|access-date=August 23, 2012|newspaper=[[Reading Eagle]]|agency=Associated Press|date=January 11, 1951}}</ref> Doby was named by Cleveland sports writers as the Cleveland Baseball Man of the Year after the season, the first time a black player was chosen.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=A0QKAAAAIBAJ&pg=6527,976218&dq=larry+doby+1950+season&hl=en|date=January 23, 1951|newspaper=[[Ellensburg Daily Record]]|access-date=September 22, 2012|agency=Associated Press|title=Honor Doby as 1950 Cleveland Baseball Man}}</ref>

====1951–1955====
Doby hit 20 home runs and 69 RBIs in 1951, both fewer than the previous season, and his batting average improved to .295. His 21-game hit-streak was the second-longest for the Indians that season, behind [[Dale Mitchell (baseball)|Dale Mitchell's]] mark of 23 games in a row.<ref name="Borsvold">{{cite book|title=Cleveland Indians: The Cleveland Press Years, 1920–1982|last=Borsvold|first=David|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|location=Charleston, South Carolina|isbn=0-7385-2325-9|year=2003}}</ref>{{rp|p.61}} Indians general manager [[Hank Greenberg]] reduced Doby's salary due to the lower home run numbers despite Doby, who attributed the lower numbers to tightness in his legs, stating he would not accept a pay cut.<ref name="Greenberg">{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]|date=February 19, 1953|access-date=August 21, 2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2boDAAAAMBAJ|title=Larry Doby Refuses Cleveland Salary Offer}}</ref><ref name="Harrison">{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]|title=Dillard to Train Doby|access-date=August 20, 2012|date=November 8, 1951|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I0MDAAAAMBAJ}}</ref> Indians manager [[Al López]] confirmed that Doby was injury-riddled throughout the season, stating that he "was beset by first one injury and then another" including "a muscle tear in his thigh, a groin pull, an ankle twist."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Washington Afro-American]]|date=April 1, 1952|access-date=August 24, 2012|last=Lacy|first=Sam|title=Tribe Will Move 'Up' – Al López|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JDsmAAAAIBAJ&pg=1851,4988139&dq=larry+doby+1951+season&hl=en}}</ref> Doby received blame for the Indians' failure to win the AL pennant and was labeled a "loner" by some in the press, including ''Plain Dealer'' sports editor [[Gordon Cobbledick]] who in an article in ''Sport'' wrote "Larry's a mixed-up guy—a badly mixed-up guy" stemming from "the emotional impact of discovering racial prejudice against him."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]|date=January 31, 1952|access-date=August 21, 2012|title=Is Larry Doby a Bust? in Sport|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W48DAAAAMBAJ&q=1950+cleveland+indians+larry+doby&pg=PA32}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]|date=June 4, 1953|access-date=August 21, 2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gEIDAAAAMBAJ&q=larry+doby+loner&pg=PA50|title=Book of the Week: Great Negro Baseball Stars}}</ref> Cobbledick also took issue with Doby's assertion that opposing pitchers were knocking him down due to Doby being black. The assertion was confirmed by [[Sam Lacy]], who wrote in the ''[[Baltimore Afro-American]]'', "Statistics show that eight colored players in the two major leagues were hit by pitches a total of 68 times during the 1951 campaign, an average of {{frac|8|1|2}} times per man. No other player was hit as many as eight times in the season."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wcYlAAAAIBAJ&pg=916,4396692&dq=larry+doby+1951+season&hl=en|date=February 5, 1952|access-date=August 24, 2012|newspaper=[[Baltimore Afro-American]]|title=From A to Z with Sam Lacy|last=Lacy|first=Sam}}</ref>

One month before spring training for the 1952 season, Doby employed former [[Olympic Games|Olympic]] track and field athlete [[Harrison Dillard]] to come to his home in New Jersey to prepare his legs in hopes of eliminating injuries, which had affected him the previous season.<ref name="Harrison" /> Dillard and the Indians' team doctor prescribed lower-body warm-ups to Doby before the start of each game.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rYMtAAAAIBAJ&pg=4903,7745470&dq=larry+doby+1950+season&hl=en|title=Dillard to help Larry Doby train|newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette]]|date=October 19, 1951|access-date=August 24, 2012|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Leg injuries continued to bother Doby during the start of the season.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QtlXAAAAIBAJ&pg=7119,444659&dq=larry+doby+1950+season&hl=en|date=October 16, 1952|newspaper=[[Spokane Daily Chronicle]]|access-date=August 23, 2012|agency=Associated Press|title=Stan Musial, Larry Doby Win 1952 Major Loop Slugging Championships}}</ref> On June 4, 1952, he [[hit for the cycle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1952/B06040BOS1952.htm|title=Boston Red Sox 13, Cleveland Indians 11|date=June 4, 1952|publisher=Retrosheet.org|access-date=September 10, 2011}}</ref> By the end of the 1952 season, Doby was second in the AL in RBIs to teammate [[Al Rosen]] by one, 105 to 104. His .541 [[slugging percentage]], runs scored (104), strikeout (111), and home run (32) totals were all highest in the AL.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HZBhAAAAIBAJ&pg=3511,682105&dq=larry+doby+1951+season&hl=en|newspaper=[[St. Petersburg Times]]|last=Olan|first=Ben|date=October 17, 1952|access-date=August 23, 2012|title=Sauer, Mantle Are Runners-Up}}</ref>

Leading up to the 1953 season, Doby asked Greenberg and Indians management for a pay raise after earning $22,000 the previous season. In early March, the raise was granted, and he was slated to make $28,000 that year.<ref>{{cite news|title=Avila is Lone Major Holdout|work=[[The Plain Dealer]]|date=March 10, 1953}}</ref> For 1953, Doby had a .263 batting average, which was his lowest since joining the league in 1947. He led the AL in strikeouts for the second and final time in his career, a career-high 121 times, but hit 29 home runs and 102 RBIs on the year. He also had 96 [[base on balls|walks]], which was third in the AL.<ref>{{cite web|title=1953 American League Batting Leaders|publisher=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1953-batting-leaders.shtml}}</ref>

For the sixth time in his major league career, Doby was named an [[1954 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] during the 1954 season, one of five Indians named. The game was held at Cleveland's [[Municipal Stadium (Cleveland)|Municipal Stadium]] and featured the second-largest crowd to watch an All-Star Game (the largest was in 1935 at the same stadium).<ref name="Classic" />{{rp|p.131}} In what would prove his final career All-Star at bat, Doby hit a [[pinch hitter|pinch-hit]] solo home run in the eighth inning to tie the game at 9–9; the AL squad went on to win, 11–9.<ref name="Classic" />{{rp|p.131}}<ref name="Midsummer">{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/mlb_asgrecaps_story_headline.jsp?story_page=recap_1954|title=All-Star Results – 1954|work=[[Major League Baseball|MLB.com]]|access-date=August 18, 2012}}</ref> His home run was the first hit by a black player in an All-Star Game.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19970705&id=0QIzAAAAIBAJ&pg=5164,940811|date=July 5, 1997|access-date=August 13, 2012|newspaper=[[The Free Lance-Star]]|location=Fredericksburg, Virginia|last=Berger|first=Ken|agency=Associated Press|title=Baseball's forgotten pioneer}}</ref> The game, which had a record 17 hits by the AL and was the highest-scoring All-Star Game until [[1998 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1998]], was called the best ever by All-Star Game founder [[Arch Ward]].<ref name="Classic" />{{rp|p.131}}<ref name="Midsummer" /> As the regular season resumed, Doby helped the Indians to win a franchise-record 111 games and the AL [[Pennant (sports)|pennant]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CLE/|title=Cleveland Indians Team History and Encyclopedia|publisher=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/|title=American League Team Win Totals|publisher=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]}}</ref> His regular season 32 home runs and career-high 126 RBIs were highest in the AL, which led to him finishing second in AL MVP voting.<ref>{{cite web|title=Baseball Awards Voting for 1954|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1954.shtml#ALmvp|publisher=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]}}</ref> The Indians were swept in the [[1954 World Series]] by Doby's former Eagles teammate Monte Irvin and the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]].<ref name="Lew">{{cite book|title=African American Pioneers of Baseball: A Biographical Encyclopedia|author=Freedman, Lew |year=2007|isbn=978-0-313-33851-9|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, Connecticut |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iIWWgB0G0YUC}}</ref>{{rp|p.146}}

In his last full season with the Indians in 1955, Doby was selected for his seventh consecutive and final [[1955 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]]. Doby's leg injuries affected him severely at this point in his career and he did not enter the game.<ref name="Finkelman">{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of African American History: 1896 to the Present|title=From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty-First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6gbQHxb_P0QC&pg=RA1-PA84|editor=Paul Finkelman|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-19-516779-5|page=84}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/mlb_asgrecaps_story_headline.jsp?story_page=recap_1955|title=All-Star Game Results – 1955|access-date=August 18, 2012|work=[[Major League Baseball|MLB.com]]}}</ref> He finished the 1955 season with 26 home runs and 75 RBIs while hitting .291 in 131 games, his fewest played since 1948. Not all in Cleveland were disappointed to see Doby leaving. Wrote one ''Plain Dealer'' columnist, Franklin Lewis: "He has been a controversial athlete. Highly gifted, he was frequently morose, sullen, and upon occasion, downright surly to his teammates&nbsp;... He thought of himself, at the beginning, as the symbol of the Negro in his league."<ref name="Man" />{{rp|p.68}} Doby responded, "I was looked on as a Black man, not as a human being. I did feel a responsibility to the Black players who came after me, but that was a responsibility, basically, to people, not just to Black people."<ref name="Man" />{{rp|p.68}}

===Later years (1956–1960)===
After spending nine seasons with Cleveland, Doby was traded on October 25, 1955, to the Chicago White Sox for [[Chico Carrasquel]] and [[Jim Busby]]. Chicago was looking for a consistent home run hitter after finishing the season with 116 home runs as a team.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1956-03-16 |title=Aparicio Fields, Hits Like Vet |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings/title/fdpyffrsawunapmdmglsdkjtcvccmhpz_ip-10-166-46-167_1740360546722 |access-date=2025-02-24 |work=[[Milwaukee Sentinel]] |page=6, part 2 |via=[[GenealogyBank.com]] |agency=International News Service}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=e_MKAAAAIBAJ&pg=5538,3799496&dq=larry+doby+1955+season&hl=en|title=Doby Sparks Chicago Sox|date=March 23, 1956|access-date=August 24, 2012|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=[[The Daily Courier (Arizona)|Prescott Evening Courier]]}}</ref> "The search is over for a long ball hitter. We've certainly needed a consistent one—and we've been eying Doby for some time", said White Sox vice president [[Chuck Comiskey]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1955-10-26 |title=White Sox Succeed in Adding Slugger |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-news-white-sox-succeed-in-addi/166546795/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |work=Miami Daily News |page=19A |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> White Sox manager [[Marty Marion]] believed Doby's bat would be a welcome addition to his club when he said, "The guy used to murder us when we played Cleveland. He'll make a big difference in the number of one-run and two-run decisions we might lose."<ref>{{cite book|title=Early Wynn, the Go-Go White Sox and the 1959 World Series|author=Freedman, Lew |isbn=978-0-7864-4442-7|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|year=2009|publisher=McFarland & Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9luOXMyE_YgC&q=larry+doby+1956+season&pg=PA72}}</ref>{{rp|p.73}} After winning a doubleheader against the Yankees on June 22, 1956, Doby and the White Sox swept New York, the first time since the 1945 season the Yankees had been swept in a four-game series.<ref name="Spencer">{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OWwrAAAAIBAJ&pg=4136,5448474&dq=larry+doby+chicago+white+sox&hl=en|title=Yankees Lose Twice; Milwaukee Wins Pair|newspaper=The Spencer Daily Reporter|date=June 23, 1956|access-date=August 25, 2012|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> The White Sox won eight straight games, the longest winning streak in the AL to that point in the season, and had done so with the help of Doby's six home runs during the eight-game stretch. "You know, when we dealt for Doby, we weren't worried about Larry. We knew he'd come through", Comiskey said.<ref name="Spencer" /> Doby finished the season with a .268 batting average and led the team with 24 home runs and 102 RBIs. Chicago finished 1956 in third place in the AL with an 85–69 record.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHW/1956.shtml|title=1956 Chicago White Sox|publisher=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]}}</ref>

In a game on August 20, 1957, against the [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]], Doby helped preserve pitcher [[Bob Keegan (baseball)|Bob Keegan]]'s no-hitter with a backhand catch off a long [[line drive]] from [[Herb Plews]], one of "two close calls" for Keegan that game.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1957-08-21 |title=Keegan Faces Only 28 Batters In First No-Hitter Of Season |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-news-keegan-faces-only-28-batt/166546683/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |work=Miami Daily News |page=D1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=August 20, 1994|access-date=August 24, 2012|title=Keegan Delivers No-Hitter|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/08/20/keegan-delivers-no-hitter/|last=Prell|first=Edward}}</ref> His 1957 home run total of 14 tied for the team-high, as he managed a .288 average and recorded 79 RBIs, second-highest on the team after former Indians teammate Minnie Miñoso. The White Sox finished second in the AL with a 90–64 record.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHW/1957.shtml|title=1957 Chicago White Sox|publisher=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]}}</ref>

[[File:Larry Doby 1958.jpg|thumb|left|190px|Doby at the [[Baltimore Orioles]]' [[spring training]] camp in 1958. He was traded to the Cleveland Indians before appearing in a regular season game for Baltimore.]]
Doby was part of a December 3, 1957, multi-player trade between the White Sox and [[Baltimore Orioles]], then was traded again on April 1 to Cleveland along with [[Don Ferrarese]] for [[Gene Woodling]], [[Bud Daley]], and [[Dick Williams]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eYUuAAAAIBAJ&pg=4787,2450588&dq=larry+doby+1958+season&hl=en|title=Sox to Pay for Deal OK|date=January 20, 1958|newspaper=[[The Daily Gazette|Schenectady Gazette]]|access-date=August 27, 2012|agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZFBjAAAAIBAJ&pg=3470,104665&dq=larry+doby+1955+season&hl=en|newspaper=[[Saskatoon StarPhoenix|Saskatoon Star-Phoenix]]|date=April 1, 1958|access-date=August 24, 2012|title=Doby Returns to Indians in Five-Man Transaction|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> He appeared in 89 games with the Indians that season and had a .289 batting average, 13 home runs, and 45 RBIs. He was sent to the Detroit Tigers on March 21, 1959, in exchange for [[Tito Francona]].<ref name="Encyclopedia" /> Tigers general manager [[Rick Ferrell]] said, "this gives us some more power and we just hope Doby hits as well in Briggs Stadium this season as he has in other years."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OPxVAAAAIBAJ&pg=5408,3923887&dq=larry+doby+1955+season&hl=en|newspaper=[[The Register-Guard|Eugene Register-Guard]]|date=March 22, 1959|access-date=August 24, 2012|title=Larry Doby Traded to Tigers by Tribe|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> He hit .218 with four RBIs before Detroit sold the 35-year-old Doby to the White Sox on May 13 for $20,000.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tigers Sell Larry Doby to Chisox|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZzJSAAAAIBAJ&pg=3273,1476498&dq=larry+doby+chicago+white+sox&hl=en|newspaper=[[Tampa Bay Times|St. Petersburg Times]]|date=May 14, 1959|access-date=August 25, 2012|agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1959-05-14 |title=Doby Back With Mates At Chicago |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-news-doby-back-with-mates-at-c/166546918/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |work=The Miami News |page=3D |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

After 21 games with the White Sox, he was sent to [[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]] affiliate [[San Diego Padres (PCL)|San Diego Padres]] of the [[Pacific Coast League]] after hitting .241 with no home runs and 9 RBIs.<ref name="Castrovince">{{cite news|url=http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070703&content_id=2063934&vkey=cle_gameface&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823062441/http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070703&content_id=2063934&vkey=cle_gameface&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 23, 2007|title=Doby: The Forgotten Trailblazer|first=Anthony|last=Castrovince|date=July 5, 2007|work=[[Major League Baseball|MLB.com]]|access-date=July 30, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Montreal">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=l4Y1AAAAIBAJ&pg=1238,90288&dq=larry+doby+1955+season&hl=en|newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette]]|date=July 3, 1978|access-date=August 24, 2012|title=Doby gets chance as Chisox manager|agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref name="SABR">{{cite web|url=http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/4e985e86|title=Larry Doby (SABR BioProject)|publisher=[[Society for American Baseball Research]]}}</ref> Doby fractured an ankle while sliding into third base after hitting a triple during a road game the Padres played against [[Sacramento Solons|Sacramento]], and was sent to a local hospital in Sacramento before going to [[Johns Hopkins Hospital]] for further evaluation.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Gadsden Times]]|date=August 25, 1959|access-date=August 25, 2012|title=Doby Undecided About Future Play|last=Harrell|first=Jerry|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=p3cpAAAAIBAJ&pg=2625,2693460&dq=larry+doby+chicago+white+sox&hl=en|agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1959-08-26 |title=Doby's Injured Ankle May End Career |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings/title/sgifumayaughgxfbttynwwacemoeobez_ip-10-166-46-126_1740361289502 |access-date=2025-02-24 |work=[[Milwaukee Sentinel]] |page=3, part 2 |via=[[GenealogyBank.com]] |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Doby worked out with the White Sox before the 1960 season but, due to nagging injuries, did not earn a roster spot.<ref>{{cite news|title=Leafs Counting on Slugger Doby|newspaper=[[Ottawa Citizen]]|date=May 6, 1960|access-date=August 27, 2012|agency=Associated Press|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rvoxAAAAIBAJ&pg=4155,1093055&dq=larry+doby+ankle&hl=en}}</ref> In late April he joined the [[Toronto Maple Leafs (International League)|Toronto Maple Leafs]] of the International League on a trial basis but was released by the team on May 6 after [[X-ray]]s showed bone deterioration in his affected ankle.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6SpgAAAAIBAJ&pg=3469,1224691&dq=larry+doby+ankle&hl=en|title=Leafs Drop Larry Doby|date=May 9, 1960|newspaper=[[Saskatoon StarPhoenix|Saskatoon Star-Phoenix]]|access-date=August 27, 2012|agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3ssnAAAAIBAJ&pg=1706,4076092&dq=larry+doby+ankle&hl=en|title=Doby Release|agency=Associated Press|date=May 8, 1960|access-date=August 27, 2012|newspaper=[[Tampa Bay Times|St. Petersburg Times]]}}</ref>

Doby finished his 13-year major league career with a .283 batting average, accumulated 1,515 hits, 253 home runs and 970 RBIs in 1,533 games and 5,348 at-bats.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GrQDAAAAMBAJ&q=larry+doby+retirement&pg=PA54|title=Larry Doby Quits For Good|magazine=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]|date=May 18, 1961|access-date=August 27, 2012}}</ref> Of his 1,533 career games, 1,146 of them were spent with the Indians. "I played against great talent in the Major Leagues and I played against great talent in the Negro Leagues. I didn't see a lot of difference", said Doby.<ref name="Dream" />

===Nippon baseball (1962)===
Doby had participated in baseball clinics in 1962 as a member of a travel delegation from the [[United States Department of State|U.S. Department of State]].<ref name="Prugh"/> That year, Doby came out of retirement and became one of the first Americans to play professional baseball in Japan's [[Nippon Professional Baseball]] league when he and [[Don Newcombe]], a former teammate with the Newark Eagles, signed contracts with the [[Chunichi Dragons]].<ref name="SABR" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mE0fAAAAIBAJ&pg=6954,3916297&dq=larry+doby+japan&hl=en|newspaper=[[The Daytona Beach News-Journal]]|date=June 24, 1962|title=Doby Contracts to Japan Club|access-date=August 25, 2012|agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]|date=January 18, 1963|title=Japanese Team Signs Nieman|access-date=August 25, 2012|agency=United Press International|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=K4EbAAAAIBAJ&pg=3910,702898&dq=larry+doby+japan&hl=en}}</ref> Doby spent the season splitting his time between 1B (36 games) and RF (34 games) and batted .225 with 10 HR, 35 RBI, and 27 runs in 240 at bats.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=doby--001law | title=Larry Doby Minor & Japanese Leagues Statistics }}</ref> After the season, Doby returned to the U.S. in October and resumed his work as a liquor retailer.<ref name="Prugh" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=1962-10-13 |title=Dobby, Newcombe Return to States |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/albuquerque-journal-dobby-newcombe-retu/166547375/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |work=Albuquerque Journal |page=C2 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>