Larry Doby, who in 1947 became the second Black player to break baseball’s color barrier and led Cleveland to a World Series championship the following year, was honored Wednesday with the Congressional Gold Medal.
Hall of Famer Doby, who died in 2003, was posthumously awarded the medal by congressional leaders during a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington that was held on what would have been his 100th birthday.
The baseball star’s son, Larry Doby Jr., accepted the medal on his father’s behalf.
“This means the world to my family,” the younger Doby said in brief remarks. “He would be extremely proud and humbled by this.”
Doby, a star in the Negro Leagues who had served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, followed Dodgers second baseman Jackie Robinson into baseball’s major leagues three months later and endured much of the same ill treatment. As the first Black player in the American League, he overcame those difficulties to star for Cleveland and later for the Chicago White Sox.
In 1948, Doby became the first Black baseball player to hit a home run in a World Series game as Cleveland won the title.
“Larry Doby will forever be remembered as a pioneer who demonstrated great character and courage throughout his life,” Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “His legacy as a trailblazing player and manager endures to this day, and he will always remain one of the great heroes that our national pastime and nation have ever known.”
After retiring as a player, he coached in the major leagues, becoming baseball’s second Black manager when he was hired for the job by the White Sox in 1978.
“American culture remembers Jackie Robinson, as we’ve heard here today, but we’re ensuring that America also remembers Larry’s contributions to sport and society,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said during the ceremony. “Up until Larry took the field for the Indians in 1947, the existence of Black athletes in sports was regarded as an experiment. His ascent to the major leagues was an affirmation that not only do they belong, they make the game much better.”
Reuters contributed to this report.