Wadsworth Congressman Jim Renacci is co-sponsoring a measure on Capitol Hill that would award a posthumous Congressional gold medal to Cleveland Indians legend Larry Doby.
Congress has awarded over 300 gold medals since the American Revolution in appreciation for significant achievements. Doby was the first African American baseball player in the American League.
Doby signed with the Indians on July 5th, 1947. Doby was forced to put up with the same indignities that the late Jackie Robinson faced with he broke the color barrier in the National League with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Doby played 12 seasons in the Major Leagues, with the Indians, Tigers and White Sox. He was named to the All-Star team seven times. He has a career batting average of .283 and hit 253 home runs.
Renacci’s office said that two-thirds of the members of the U.S. House and Senate must co-sponsor the measure before a committee takes it up.
Carrying the bill on the Democratic side is Representative Bill Pascrell, who is from Doby’s home town of Paterson, New Jersey. Doby was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 by the Veterans Committee. He passed away on June 18, 2003 at the age of 79.
