Larry Doby wasn't a good ballplayer, or a very good ballplayer.
He was a great one.
This is where we start, at recognizing the man for what he achieved, not only as a symbol.
Eleven weeks after Jackie Robinson began blazing his trail in Brooklyn, Doby did the same hard, necessary work. The leagues were different, but the games -- and the cultural trials and tribulations -- were identical.
Just as Robinson never had it made, Doby had to endure untold indignities to achieve his goal. He became a great player, and that is how he should be remembered, along with his social pioneering.
His Indians will be honoring Doby by acknowledging his retired No. 14 in an Aug. 10 ceremony commemorating Doby's 1947 debut. He deserves to stand alongside Robinson, a man he admired, in our hearts and minds.
"I went through everything Jackie did," Doby confided one night. "It just didn't get as much attention, mainly because Jack was first but also because of where he was, in New York.
"That was OK by me. I just wanted to play the game. That's all I ever cared about."
Click here to read more about Larry Doby on the Major League Baseball official website.
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