Today in sports history -- Larry Doby

Ten years ago today, Indians great Larry Doby was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Doby was the American League's first black player, debuting a couple of months after Jackie Robinson in 1947. And he certainly had a tough time of it too, as documented in the excellent 2007 Showtime documentary "Pride Against Prejudice: The Larry Doby Story."

Doby made seven straight All-Star teams (1949 to 1955), and he had remarkably consistent seasons during that period. His first truly great year was 1950, when he hit .326 with 25 home runs and 102 RBIs, and he led the AL with a .442 on-base percentage and a .986 OPS. He finished eighth in the MVP voting that year, at age 26.

He also led the league in home runs, runs scored and slugging in 1952; and home runs and RBIs for that great 1954 team that won 111 games. Doby finished second in the MVP voting in '54, behind Yogi Berra. And he hit a pinch-hit home run in the All-Star game that year, in front of his own home fans at Cleveland Stadium.

He finished his career with 1,515 hits, 253 homers and 970 RBIs. If he hadn't been a trail blazer, would he have gotten into the Hall of Fame? Probably not. Doby was only a truly great player for about six years; most Hall of Famers were great for at least a decade. It took him nearly 40 years after his retirement to get in as it is, and the Veterans Committee undoubtedly gave him extra credit for being the AL's first black player -- as well it should have, in my opinion.

In 1997, when Robinson's No. 42 was retired throughout the major leagues, Doby was virtually ignored, despite having suffered many of the same indignities Robinson did. But the All-Star game was at Cleveland's Jacobs Field that year, and Doby was given the honor of throwing out the first pitch. Maybe that attention helped get him into the Hall the next year. I'm glad it happened when he was still alive to enjoy it (he died in 2003).