Black History Month Profile: Larry Doby and Buck Leonard

Larry Doby

Another great player in the long list of prominent African American athletes of the past is Larry Doby. He was a pioneer in baseball history as he was the first black player to play in the American League for the Cleveland Indians.

Larry Doby broke the color barrier in the American League just months after Jackie Robinson integrated the Major Leagues in 1947, and became an integral part of the Cleveland Indians organization as he lead them to the American League pennant in 1948 and 1954.

Doby was a seven-time All-Star who batted .283 with 253 home runs and 970 RBI in 13 Major League seasons & led the league in home runs twice and collected 100 or more RBI five times.

Before his career in the Major Leagues, he played with the Newark Eagles for the Negro National League for 4 seasons.

After his career, he was appointed manager of the White Sox in 1978 and was the second African-American to manage a Major League club, as Frank Robinson was named manager-coach for the Indians in 1975. He was also a scout and Major League Baseball executive, and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.

Larry Doby passed away in 2003.

Buck Leonard

Buck Leonard is one of the most popular and most well known the past Negro Leaguers. Dubbed the “Black Lou Gehrig”, he was a teammate of Josh Gibson and two men created a 1-2 duo that helped the Homestead Grays win nine consecutive Negro League titles. Besides being a prolific home-run hitter, he was a slick fielder and was named an 11-time Negro League All-Star.

Leonard started his career in 1933 with the Brooklyn Royal Giants and then the year after ended up with the Homestead Grays. Along with Josh Gibson, he was a part of lineup and legacy in the Negro Leagues that might have rivaled any lineup, in the Major or Negro Leagues in history, including as some would even assert, the fabled Yankee teams of the 20’s. He had a career batting average of .341 and was nominated for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. All in all, played 17 years for the Homestead Grays.

After his career, he returned to his home state of North Carolina and worked as a truant officer, a P.E. teacher and was a vice-president of a minor league team.

He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.