Mark W. Buyck, III: Following Mr. Robinson

FOLLOWING MR. ROBINSON

Red Barber was the long-time major league baseball play-by-play announcer for the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees. Barber was a Southerner and the radio announcer for the 1947 Dodgers team that integrated major league baseball with the first African American player in nearly a half century, Jackie Robinson. Barber referred to 1947 as “the year all hell broke loose in baseball.” Baseball’s integration was a pivotal event in the countries attitudes toward ending racial segregation. In 1947 baseball was America’s favorite sport. Professional football and basketball had not captured the American attention to the extent that it does today. Baseball was, in fact, the American pastime. Baseball and society at large in 1947 would be unrecognizable to youth today. While there were hundreds of minor league teams throughout the country, there were only 16 major league franchises, 8 in the American League and 8 in the National League. The four Southernmost teams were the St. Louis Browns, the Washington Senators, The Cincinnati Reds, and the St. Louis Cardinals. Southern players were prominent throughout the league; however, there were no teams on the West Coast or in the Southeast. Most strikingly there were no African American or Latino players to be found on any big-league roster. Likewise, the American workplace and society at large maintained racial segregation. Most of us are familiar with the story of Jackie Robinson. He was the first African American player. Not as well-known is the second African American on a big-league roster and the first in the American League, Larry Doby, a South Carolina native. Doby was born in Camden in 1926. Doby’s father, a World War I vet, spent very little time with his family when Larry was young. His mother relocated to Patterson New Jersey but left Larry in Camden to attend school while living with various relatives. Doby described his childhood saying, “growing up in Camden, we didn’t have baseball bats. We’d use a tree here, a tin can there, for bases.” At the age of 14, Doby moved to Patterson and was reunited with his mother. He was a multi-sport athlete in high school playing on integrated teams. At the age of 17 he was playing in the Negro Leagues for the Newark Eagles using the pseudonym “Larry Walker” in order to maintain his amateur status thus allowing him to compete in college. 1943 Doby joined the United States Navy serving in various bases around the United States as well as in the Pacific. He was honorably discharged in January 1946, married his high school sweetheart, and rejoined the Eagles. This was the same year that Jackie Robinson was playing AAA baseball in Montreal for the Dodgers. In the 1946 season Doby led the Eagles to the Negro World Series Championship over the Kansas City Monarchs. The Cleveland Indians were owned by Bill Veeck, possibly the most colorful owner and promoter in baseball history. Veeck had long advocated for integration of the major leagues. When Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers for the start of the 1947 season, Veeck was not far behind. Veeck had already identified Doby as his man. Rather than placing Doby in the Indian’s minor league organization, Veeck negotiated directly with the owner of the Eagles while Doby continued to play. On July 5, 1947, with

little public fanfare, the 22-year-old Doby met his new teammates for the first time in Chicago for a game against the White Sox. He received a frosty reception with most of his teammates refusing to shake his hand and two turning their backs to him. He later described his introduction as “one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.” He entered the game for the first time as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning. He struck out. After the game, Doby spent the night at a black hotel while his teammates retired to their segregated downtown hotel. Doby remained with the team for the remainder of the season however he only played sparingly recording just 32 official at-bats. While his first season was inauspicious, his remaining career was Hall of Fame worthy. Doby would play 13 years in the major leagues. He was a 7-time all-star centerfielder. In 1948 Doby and the Indians defeated the Boston Braves in the World Series. The team has not won the World Series since. Doby became the first black player to hit a home run in the World Series. He was selected to the American League All-Star team in every season between 1949 and 1955. In 1954, Doby led the American League in homeruns (32) and runs batted in (126). He committed only two errors in 153 games in centerfield. He finished second in the 1954 American League MVP voting to Yogi Berra. Doby spent his final four seasons bouncing between the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians playing his last major league game in 1959. In 1962 he became one of the first American players to play in Japan suiting up with the Chunichi Dragons. Doby dreamed of being a major league manager. He was scout and coach after retiring as a player. He was the Indian’s first base coach in 1974 when they named Frank Robinson baseball’s first black manager. In 1976 Bill Veeck purchased the White Sox and hired Doby as a batting coach. In 1978 Doby became the second black manager in major league history when Veeck chose him to succeed Bob Lemon who was fired in mid-season. Doby’s record that year was only 37-50 and Veeck relieved him of his duties at the end of the season. Doby would later recount “I was the second black manager in major league history after Frank Robinson. Funny thing, I followed another Robinson.” Doby remained active in baseball for the rest of his life. In 1998 he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veteran’s Committee. He was the first member of the Hall of Fame born in South Carolina (Jim Rice would become the second). He died on June 18, 2003. His life is commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp released in July 2012.

248 West Evans Street | Florence, SC | 843.662.3258 2050 Corporate Centre’ Drive, Suite 230 Myrtle Beach, SC | 843.650.6777

Business Law, Litigation, Real Estate, and Federal Criminal Defense Attorneys

Mark W. Buyck, III