Larry Doby is selected by the Veterans Committee for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The first African-American player in the American League, Doby was an integral part of the Indians’ AL Pennant winning seasons of 1948 and 1954. He was a seven-time All-Star, receiving the honor in consecutive seasons from 1949 to 1955. He twice led the AL (1952, 1954) in home runs with 32 and his career-high mark of 126 RBI in 1954 led the Junior Circuit. He finished second in the running for the Most Valuable Player award that season, losing out to New York’s Yogi Berra.
After spending nine seasons in Cleveland, Doby was traded to the Chicago White Sox following the 1955 season. After a shrot four-month stay with the Baltimore Orioles organization in the offseason following the 1957 season, he would be dealt back to Cleveland.
The Indians traded Doby to the Detroit Tigers prior to the 1959 season for Tito Francona. He was sent to the White Sox for cash after less than two months in Detroit and played 21 more games for the Sox to wrap up his Major League career. He would later play a season in Japan at the age of 38 and would return to the MLB as a coach and, briefly, manager of the White Sox.
He finished a lifetime .283 hitter with 253 home runs during his 13-year career.