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Lawrence Eugene Doby
Chicago White Sox
Outfield
Bats: Left Throws: Right Height: 6'1" Weight: 180Born: December 13, 1923, Camden, SC
Signed: Signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians, July 2, 1947
Major League Teams: Newark Eagles 1942-1944, 1946-1947; Cleveland Indians 1947-1955; Chicago White Sox 1956-1957; Cleveland Indians 1958; Detroit Tigers 1959; Chicago White Sox 1959
As a Manager: Chicago White Sox 1978
Hall of Fame Induction: 1998
Hall of Fame Induction: 1998
Died: June 18, 2003, Montclair, NJ (age 79)
Larry Doby was the first African-American player in the American League and the first Black player to go directly from the Negro Leagues to the Major Leagues. A star with the Newark Eagles, he and teammate Monte Irvin (#194) helped that club with the Negro League World Series in 1946. Upon joining the Indians in 1947, Doby spent eight and half seasons as the team's everyday centerfielder, helping Cleveland reach and win the World Series in 1948. He was named to seven straight All-Star teams between 1949 and 1955, leading the league in RBIs with 126 in 1954, and in home runs twice in 1952 and 1954. He was the league's MVP runner-up in 1954 behind Yogi Berra (#110), as his Indians once again reached the World Series. Doby would finish out his career with the White Sox, a return trip to the Indians and the Tigers, making a brief comeback in 1962 with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan.
He retired with a .283 average in 1,533 games played, with 1,515 hits, 253 home runs and 970 RBIs. Doby served as a coach with the Expos (1971-1973, 1976), Indians (1974) and White Sox (1977-1978), briefly taking over as manager of the White Sox when Bob Lemon (#255) was fired in June 1978. He'd later work in the front office of the NBA's New Jersey Nets. Doby had his #14 retired by the Indians in 1994, and the Veteran's Committee voted him into the Hall of Fame in 1998.
Building the Set
Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #31
This was one of the Original 44, and I re-told the story of how my Dad and I started collecting this set with the Walt Dropo (#238) post, back in February. Seven of the Original 44 came from series one, with 11 coming from series two, and this Doby card is the 13th of 16 from series three. Doby is one of eight Hall of Famers (or future Hall of Famers) from that Original 44 haul, along with Ed Mathews (#107), Berra, Willie Mays (#130), Red Schoendienst (#165), Early Wynn (#187) and Lemon.
This was one of the Original 44, and I re-told the story of how my Dad and I started collecting this set with the Walt Dropo (#238) post, back in February. Seven of the Original 44 came from series one, with 11 coming from series two, and this Doby card is the 13th of 16 from series three. Doby is one of eight Hall of Famers (or future Hall of Famers) from that Original 44 haul, along with Ed Mathews (#107), Berra, Willie Mays (#130), Red Schoendienst (#165), Early Wynn (#187) and Lemon.
The Card / White Sox Team Set
I'm a little stunned to find out, after owning this card for close to 40 years, that it's not an Indians card but a White Sox card. Topps apparently updated the action photo of Doby to show him in a White Sox uniform, but they didn't update his hat in the portrait, which is the same photo used for his 1954 Topps card. I've looked at this card hundreds of times and never registered the Chicago White Sox team designation on the front. Crazy.
The back of the card highlights his trade to Chicago, his big years with Cleveland in 1952 and 1954, and his hitting for the cycle on June 4, 1952 against the Red Sox.
1956 Season
On October 25, 1955, the Indians traded Doby to the White Sox for Jim Busby (#330) and Chico Carrasquel (#230). (Topps was able to update the hats on the Busby and Carrasquel cards to feature the Indians logo.) Chicago acquired Doby in the hope of adding a power bat to their line-up, and Doby would hit 24 home runs and drive in 102 runs for the year. Despite the combined offense of Doby in center field and Minnie Minoso (#125) in left, the White Sox still finished in third place, 12 games behind the Yankees.
1956 Season
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First Mainstream Card: 1949 Bowman #233
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1952, 1954, 1956-1959, 1973-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2022 Topps Archives #276
371 - Doby non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/12/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
The Trading Card Database
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Order Collected: #247 Bill Sarni - St. Louis Cardinals / #251 New York Yankees Team Card
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