I think there should be a Larry Doby movie. He wasn't the one to break the color barrier, but he was the first black player to be in the American League and he went through just as much as Jackie Robinson did. Not to mention, he was a great baseball player.
shareIt is a shame that Larry Doby's story isn't mentioned more. He entered MLB with the Indians in July 1947, the same season as Jackie, and encountered just as many insults, including from teammates. The older columnists on ESPN back in the day used to mention him in the same breath as Jackie, but these days you hardly hear about him.
sharethen again Scott died coming back from the south Pole so maybe Larry wasn't that badly off?
"It's the system, Lara. People will be different after the Revolution."
Jackie received a lot of support from his teammates, particularly future HoF Pee Wee Reese and Ed Stanky. Not only on the field, Jackie was brought along on social, no-media events with his team, such as golfing, even in 1947.
Further, though the notion of so much hate makes for compelling cinema, the very fact that Robinson won Rookie of the Year shows a majority of the sportswriters, at the least, supported him. It is a completely arbitrary award, there are no standards applied other than actually being a rookie. The writers were not forced to pick him, they chose to. He got 78% of the votes.
Least anyone make the mistake of thinking Jackie was clearly the best rookie:
Larry Jansen went 21-5 with a 3.16 ERA in 30 Starts, and Ferris Fain actually hit better (.837 OPS vs. .810), though Jackie played in ~15 more games. You can argue about which is more important, but the fact remains that writers voted for Jackie over Fain 78% to 26%.
Good points about Larry Doby.
He isn't well remembered as few recall the SECOND person to set a milestone - particularly as Doby wasn't colorful. Ironically, Doby may have had more overall talent than Jackie Robinson. In 1978 Doby became the 2nd black manager (after Frank Robinson), hired by the same owner (Bill Veeck) who ran the Indians in 1947 and White Sox in 1978. But how many people can name Doby in either role?
For years the media slobbered sympathy on the big-$$$ Chicago Cubs for going longest without a world series title (1908-2016, 108 years). But that same media ignored their crosstown rival White Sox, far bigger underdogs, during their long title drought, the 2nd longest in baseball (1917-2005, 88 years). The media did focus on the Boston Red Sox (1918-2004, 86 years), probably due to that team's storied history of hard luck - sending Babe Ruth to New York, repeatedly losing pennants (or titles) at season's end.
Pretty soon, how many will remember who lost to Trump despite getting nearly 3 million more votes than that jackass? Can you name the 2nd President, or your current Lieutenant Governor? What team LOST the superbowl four straight years? What team lost it four times in the 1970's?