Quote:
Originally Posted by Topnotchsy
Something I know you know, but others seem to forget, is the way that the leagues were really separate entities back then. The AL and NL did not play each other, other than the World Series. And there were AL fans and NL fans.
Larry Doby was 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson, but that understates his reality. No teams that Doby had played against had played against Jackie Robinson or any other black player in an official game (they may have in Spring Training of interracial barnstorming game). In basically every situation he entered, Doby was the first, in the same way that Jackie was. The only difference I am aware of is the level of national coverage.
Additionally, Jackie's entrance into the game was far more orchestrated. In 1946 he played in Montreal which was specifically chosen for its general acceptance of black people. He also always had a black teammate while there, initially Johnny Wright and later Roy Partlow (I think I may be forgetting one other). He had a year in the Minors to prepare for the Major League experience. Doby, on the other hand was thrown in, all alone, with little prep and no teammate.
I've been looking for a Doby pre-MLB (edit: Type I) photo for a while (military or Negro Leagues). So far just have this...
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+1
People think of Larry Doby as having had barriers broken down for him by Jackie Robinson, but as you point out, because the AL and NL were so separate, the players and fans in the in the AL basically treated Doby as the 1st to break the color barrier.
Doby was also overshaded by a different Robinson--Frank Robinson became the 1st black Manager in 1974, and four years later, Doby became the 2nd black Manager (for the White Sox).