Today is Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball, a terrific celebration in which baseball recognizes Robinson by having all of its players wear his number 42 in his honor.
I'm sure you've heard Robinson's story, and the courage and willpower he exhibited when facing constant hatred from the baseball community and beyond.
What we forget, though, is while Robinson was the first African-American in Major League history, other men had to go through essentially the same experience.
For example, if you are only a casual baseball fan, you might not have the slightest clue of who Larry Doby is.
On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Eleven weeks later, on June 5, Larry Doby stepped onto the field donning a Cleveland Indians uniform. Like Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby was an African-American - the second in Major League history, and the first to play in the American League.
During the 1997 season, when Robinson's number 42 was being retired throughout baseball, and the still-living Larry Doby was being virtually ignored by the media, an editorial in Sports Illustrated pointed out that Doby had to suffer the same indignities that Robinson did, with nowhere near the media attention and implicit support.
Doby was still recognized for his play on the field though: appearing in seven All-Star games, and being selected by the Veterans Committee in 1998 into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Instrumental to Doby's success was Bill Veeck, the Indians owner who signed him in 1947. Veeck signed Doby for a second time in 1959, where he finished his playing career with the White Sox, and again in 1978, to become the second African-American manager in MLB history (with the ChiSox. Frank Robinson was the first African-American manager, in 1975.) Veeck was for Doby was what Branch Rickey was for Jackie Robinson: the man who gave him a chance.
While racial slurs were being hollered at Robinson, Doby was serenaded with hatred as well. It would have been the proper gesture by baseball to recognize Doby in a similar fashion as Jackie Robinson, but what the two of them accomplished cannot be taken away.
