Trailblazer Larry Doby proved integration was here to stay in baseball 75 years ago

Some historians say democracy in America wasn't complete until John Adams took office as the second president, proving George Washington wasn't after more power.

In baseball, the same can be said about integration.

While Jackie Robinson was, and still is, the most important figure in professional sports history, baseball wasn't truly integrated until someone else joined him in the major leagues.

Robinson could have been seen as an anomoly, but as manager Leo Durocher told his team "there are more coming, and they can play."

It took just three months for the next Black player in the majors when Cleveland signed outfielder Larry Doby, integrating the American League.

Just three months later.

And Doby went on to lead Cleveland to the World Series title a year later and had a Hall of Fame career.

So why isn't Larry Doby a household name if he was that close behind and that great of a player?

There are several reasons for this.

First of all, he wasn't the first, and fair or not, there will always be a disparaging difference there. After all, who was the second in flight after the Wright Brothers? Who were the silver medalists that finished behind Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt?

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More: Larry Doby still underappreciated as baseball pioneer

The second reason is that Doby was extremely quiet. He went about his business in a blue-collar way, and didn't say much. When he was met with racism, he internalised the anguish and it fueled him, but he didn't talk about it much during his career.

The third reason is that he wasn't the star of his team. Doby really wasn't an everyday player until the following year and the face of the franchise was Bob Feller, one of the greatest pitchers in the game who also was a World War II hero.

The fourth reason is that Doby played in Cleveland, not Brooklyn. Playing in New York City, Robinson had 100 times the media coverage that Doby did in Cleveland, following his every move.

The last major reason is that Doby wasn't elected to the Hall of Fame until 1998. While he finished his career by 1960, two years before Robinson became the first Black player elected to the Hall of Fame, his stats were lower than other players because he played several years in the Negro Leagues, then served in the military during World War II. So he missed four years where he could have been piling up more statistics.

The voters didn't take into consideration his important role in integration. He should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer easily.

But Doby deserves to be remembered like a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

He was a true pioneer of the game. He came up in the Negro Leagues with the Newark Eagles and batted .365 in 1946, leading the Eagles to the Negro League World Series championship.

After integrating the American League, Doby went on to be a nine-time All-Star. He led Cleveland to the World Series title, still its last title, in 1948, then led the league in home runs and RBIs in 1954, leading Cleveland to another World Series, but this time they lost to the Giants.

Doby could do it all. He could run, field, hit, hit with power and throw, the five-tools of an elite player. Advanced metrics show his dominance even more with a 56.5 WAR and 140 OPS+ in his shorter career.

After his playing career, he was a coach in the majors and followed another Robinson, Frank Robinson, as the second Black manager in the major leagues. Doby was a famous second again.

Baseball truly became integrated when another Black player, on another team, followed in Jackie Robinson's footsteps. Doby did that just months later, proved he was one of the game's elite the following year and went on to a Hall of Fame career.

We all need to remember Doby as one of the game's most important pioneers and trailblazers, and the player who proved integration was here to stay.

— Contact Sports Editor Dan D'Addona at Dan.D'Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDAddona and Facebook @Holland Sentinel Sports.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Trailblazer Larry Doby proved integration was here to stay in baseball