CLEVELAND, Ohio – Before the statue of Hall of Famer Larry Doby was unveiled on Saturday afternoon, Indians owner Paul Dolan spoke about the first African American to play in the American League.
He talked about Doby being overshadowed by Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball's color barrier on April 15, 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Doby debuted less than three months later with the Indians on July 5.
He talked about the two pioneers and how the attention was focused on Robinson's struggles against a racist sport in the National League, while Doby was going through the same thing in the American League.