Celebrating the life and achievements of Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby.

Mr. President, the Senate is poised to pass H. Con. Res. 235, a measure that pays tribute to a legendary American pioneer and a long-time friend of mine, Larry Doby, who died on June 18. I appreciate the willingness of the majority and minority leaders to expedite Senate consideration of this measure, and I applaud the efforts of Congressman Bill Pascrell of my home State of New Jersey, who introduced it in the House of Representatives.

I first met Larry when we were thirteen or fourteen. We went to school together at Eastside High in my hometown, Paterson, NJ. The first time I saw him, he was running track, doing the broad jump. And he was amazing. We stayed in touch over the many years that have passed since then.

Larry Doby was an exceptional athlete--one of our very best--and an exciting player to watch on the field. But he was much more than that; he was a great man and he was also a good man. He had so much dignity. Though Larry Doby has died, the path he blazed for African-Americans remains.

Few people realize that Larry began his groundbreaking athletic career in 1943--at the age of 18--as the first African-American to play in the American Basketball League for the Paterson Panthers. He then moved on to baseball, playing for the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League. After returning from his service to the Navy for 2 years, Larry hit .414 with 14 home runs in his final season in Newark.

It was on July 5, 1947, just 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball, that Larry Doby signed a contract with the Cleveland Indians of the American league. He was the first African-American player in the American League. Larry had no intention or desire to become part of history. When Indians owner Bill Veeck predicted to Larry that he would ``be part of history,'' Larry replied, ``I had no notions about that. I just wanted to play baseball.''

And play baseball he did, and quite well. Larry was an All-Star seven times in his 13-year career. In the 1948 World Series between Cleveland and the Boston Braves, his home run in Game 4 broke a 1-1 tie; Cleveland won 2-1 and went on to win the Series in six games. He hit at least 20 home runs in eight straight seasons and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.

Larry became the second African-American manager of a major league team when he took over as skipper of the Chicago White Sox in 1978. He was also the director of community relations for the New Jersey Nets in the late 1970s, encouraging the development of youth programs in urban New Jersey.

Larry was a superb athlete, but things didn't come easy for him. When he joined the Indians, he was harassed by opposing players and fans. He was forced to eat in separate restaurants, to sleep in separate hotels. Some of his own teammates wouldn't even shake his hand. But he pressed on, and we're a better country for it.

At the memorial service for Larry, Newark Star-Ledger sports columnist Jerry Izenberg recalled the day that Larry entered the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. The two of them paused in front of a large photo snapped immediately after Game 4 of the 1948 World Series--the game Larry won with his home run. The photo showed Larry and winning pitcher Steve Gromek hugging each other. Larry reminisced that the photo appeared on the front pages of a lot of newspapers the next day and said to Jerry, ``That was the first time you could see a black and white person embrace on the first page of papers.'' ``At the time,'' Jerry said, ``America needed that picture. And Larry was so proud to have played a part in giving America what it needed.''

Larry said it best in a speech he gave after his career had ended. He said, ``We can see that baseball helped make this a better country. We hope baseball has given (children) some idea of what it is to live together and how you can get along, whether you are black or white.''

By this resolution Congress is showing its appreciation on behalf of all Americans to Larry Doby for his role in breaking down racial barriers in baseball and in America. I'll say here what I said at his memorial service: ``When we stand every day for the things we believe in, we'll be standing for Larry Doby.'' His family will miss him. I will miss him. America will miss him.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois. I want to thank also the gentlewoman from Tennessee. Both of my colleagues I think struck appropriate words about a great American, a great American.

This resolution, this concurrent resolution honors the life and achievements of Lawrence Eugene ``Larry'' Doby. He left this Earth just a few months ago. His wife died a few years ago. They were inseparable individuals. I know one can read about the history of Larry Doby and one can hear about it and see it in film, but there is something that is spoken today that one will not find in those documentations.

Mr. Speaker, in our commercial world of endorsements, free agents, $6.50 a beer at a ball game, and Astroturf, I want to pause today to praise the great stature of a man who played baseball when baseball was baseball. He was more than a civil rights leader. He was more than a Hall of Fame baseball player. He was a Hall of Fame human being. To him, to Larry Doby, community was critical. No man was living on an island.

I am so proud to be a resident, a lifelong resident of Paterson, New Jersey, and I always say one ``T'', because that is where Larry made his fame, at East Side High School. He was a star in four sports, and he achieved. He attended Long Island University, went into the Navy, served this country, served this country, and came out and played minor league baseball for a while on teams where you had to be all one color.

So he made the movement and was asked to come aboard the Cleveland Indians, just after Jackie Robinson, 3 months prior, became a part of the Brooklyn Dodgers. And many fans never saw him play because obviously there was not inter-league play at that particular time. And we know what happened with Jackie Robinson when he went to the Brooklyn Dodgers: They even changed the camp where they trained, got it away from people so there would be no problems. And we know that Larry Doby, when he came into the American League, some of his own teammates isolated him, ignored him.

He was grateful to the owner of the Cleveland Indians, Bill Veeck. Mr. Speaker, there always has to be somebody who is willing to make the change. There always has to be somebody that runs point and who is willing to say, this is the right thing. This is the thing we need to do. We should have done it a long time ago. It should not have had to be done. This should be a natural process of growing up in the greatest of all democracies.

It was not. So this young man who came out of Camden, South Carolina, came to Paterson with his family when he was 15 years of age, found himself at the center of a tremendous amount of attention, and he deserved it. But to the end he remained modest, and he was a gracious, true gentleman, unlike some of the bravado that we hear in sports today when we hold up Nike sneakers. This is a man of a different age but a man for all ages. Beyond the record that he broke, beyond the sports world, Larry Doby was a good person, beautiful family, a great career. Responsive to the community he lived in, Paterson and then Montclair, New Jersey, where he passed. And Helen who passed 2 years ago, every time you saw Larry Doby you saw everyone. Every time you saw Helen, you saw Larry Doby. Our thoughts are with Larry's surviving children, Larry, Jr., Leslie Feggan, Kimberly Martin, Susan Robinson, and Christina Fearington. And I had the privilege, as many of us did back in 1998 on this floor to have a post office, the main post office in our county, named after Larry Doby.

Just a few months before he passed from this Earth we all stood at Eastside Park and commemorated, and it was like a 15-year old young man who had just come to Paterson, we commemorated a baseball field with the stands and everything, Larry Doby Field. And Larry insisted that we would lock the field when it was not being used because he wanted it to remain a baseball field, and it has. People go there with respect. A great statue, a great statue right in front of this great ballpark.

I want to thank the Speaker. I want to thank the ranking member. I want to thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn).

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 235) celebrating the life and achievements of Lawrence Eugene ``Larry'' Doby.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Con. Res. 235.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, House Concurrent Resolution 235, introduced by my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), celebrates the life and achievements of Lawrence Eugene ``Larry'' Doby.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud that the House is considering this legislation that honors an American hero we just do not know as much as we should about. We all know the story of Jackie Robinson, who courageously abolished the color barrier in major league baseball by first playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. What many may not have learned is that 3 months later, in July of 1947, Larry Doby became the first black player in the American League when he suited up for the Cleveland Indians.

As the first black player in American League history, the pressures and prejudices Doby experienced were heartbreaking. His Hall of Fame Indians teammate, Bob Feller, described Doby as a sensitive man and added, the way many fans and other players treated him was very tough. Doby spoke with Jackie Robinson frequently during his early major league playing days. He recounted to the L.A. Times in 1974 that by talking about the issues he and Robinson faced, that ``Maybe we kept each other from giving up.'' Since Doby was a gentleman, he once said, ``I couldn't react to prejudicial situations from a physical standpoint. My reaction was to hit the ball as far as I could.'' And he did that, channeling that energy to greatness.

Indeed, not only did Doby bravely change minds with his mere presence on the field, he also turned heads with his outstanding play. He won a World Series title with the Cleveland Indians in his first full year in 1948. During the season, he hit an average 301 with 16 home runs, and he led the club with a .318 average during the 1948 World Series. He finished his historic career with 253 home runs and 970 runs batted in. In 1998, Larry Doby was deservedly inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame.

Mr. Speaker, America sadly lost Larry Doby in June at the age of 79. On behalf of this entire House, I offer my sincere condolences of all Members to the friends and the family of Larry Doby.

America has long had a deep obsession with sports, and there is little doubt that the common goals of athletics have had a profound impact on race relations in this country.

In 1947, Larry Doby inducted himself to the all-white baseball world as a courageous man with an awe-inspiring lefthanded swing. His bravery unquestionably opened the door of opportunity to many players from so many backgrounds, all the way to this present day. But beyond the baseball field, Larry Doby helped to prove that a person's skin color has nothing to do with his or her abilities at a time when America needed to learn that lesson.

For all these reasons, Mr. Speaker, I hope this resolution is seen as a fitting tribute to a man that all of us still owe a debt of gratitude. I urge all Members to support the adoption of House Concurrent Resolution 235, and I congratulate the gentleman from New Jersey for his work on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this point I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate so much the remarks that have been made about Larry Doby and his career. We recognize the importance of Larry Doby. As the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) was saying, Jackie Robinson and Shoeless Joe Jackson, and we talk about the importance of having heroes, and these were men who were heroes, and how important that we honor Larry Doby. So I commend my colleague from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) for introducing the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with the gentlewoman from Tennessee in consideration of H. Con. Res. 235, celebrating the life and achievements of Lawrence Eugene ``Larry'' Doby.

Mr. Speaker, Larry Doby, who broke the color barrier in the American League in 1947, 3 months after Jackie Robinson became the first black in modern major league baseball, died on Wednesday, June 18 in Montclair, New Jersey. He was 79 years old.

Born on December 13, 1923 in Camden, South Carolina, Larry Doby was also the first player to jump straight from the Negro leagues to the majors. He was signed by the Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck. He later integrated Japanese baseball in 1962 and went on to become the sport's second black manager and one of its first black executives.

However, it was in his role as the second black player in baseball that Larry Doby had his most significant impact on professional athletics. Larry Doby was an all-State athlete in football, basketball, and baseball in high school. He then continued his athletic career at Long Island University. When Bill Veeck, who was determined to integrate his team, sought to sign a black player, Larry Doby was his obvious choice. He had led the Negro National League with a batting average of .458 and 13 home runs.

Like Jackie Robinson, Doby faced extraordinary pressures that first season, including open hostility from teammates and opposing players. Larry Doby and Jackie Robinson formed a close relationship through their lifetimes. Doby's debut opened the way for three more blacks to enter the majors within a month, and made it clear that baseball was on a permanent course toward integration. His presence as a player for the Indians also contributed to the more general cause of civil rights for blacks when Washington's exclusive Hotel Statler, formerly whites-only, permitted Larry Doby to room with his team.

In 1948, he batted an impressive .301 with 14 home runs and 65 runs batted in. He led the Indians to a victory over the Boston Braves in the World Series, becoming the first black to play on a World Series championship team. He later led the American League in home runs in 1952 and again in 1954. When he retired after 13 seasons with the Indians, White Sox, and Detroit Tigers, he had a formidable career batting average of .285 and 253 lifetime home runs. For his achievements, he was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1998.

Doby became the Indian's manager in 1978 and later became a special assistant to Dr. Gene Budig, the President of the American League. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, when blacks were welcome on the baseball field and in the stands but not in the front office, Larry Doby continued to push for expanded opportunities for people of color.

Lawrence Eugene Doby was a great American and his life and achievements make him worthy of this recognition today. I would like to commend the sponsor of this resolution, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), and I urge swift passage.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the sponsor of this resolution, the gentleman from Paterson, New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown), where Larry Doby played much of his ball.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank everybody who

participated in this debate. Larry Doby was indeed a great athlete but an even greater American.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), and I thank particularly the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) for his sponsorship on this piece of legislation.

I stand also to honor Larry Doby. I saw Larry Doby after his career in Cleveland for the White Sox had finished. My dad took me as a 6- year-old kid to see Larry Doby, and I saw him play then and met him later for a moment when he threw out the first pitch of the House baseball game.

Larry Doby in some sense was as courageous or even more courageous than Jackie Robinson. I asked a group of people as I was walking through an office earlier today what they knew about Larry Doby. These people were in their twenties and thirties. They knew almost nothing of him. Several people had heard of him. They knew he was a baseball player. They knew very little else.

Larry Doby was the second African American player to play major league baseball, the first in the American League. As I said, in some sense he was as courageous, maybe even more courageous than Jackie Robinson. In his words, and he said with certainly no bitterness but just as an observation, Larry Doby said, The only difference between us, Jackie Robinson and himself, was that Jackie Robinson got all the publicity. You did not hear much about what I was going through because the media did not want to repeat the same story, the same story they had written not long before.

He said, ``I could not react to prejudicial situations from a physical standpoint. My reaction was to hit the ball as far as I could.''

He had the same kinds of anger and bitterness and racist catcalls and violent behavior all aimed at him as Jackie Robinson did, and he was every bit the hero that Jackie Robinson was.

As the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) pointed out, he also changed not just baseball history, but he helped as a pioneer in pulling this country together, a pioneer in beginning to start to erase the racial prejudice in this country. He did it in a variety of ways. He did it as a baseball player in the way he played. He also did it with the strength in which he played. He also did it as a manager, and also in his professional and personal life back in Paterson. But he also did it in a way that is interesting.

In the spring of 1947, Bill Veeck, the Indians' general manger, understanding that Larry Doby was going to be playing, moved spring training camp to Arizona, away from the South, understanding that it would make things a little bit more even tempered, if you will, for Larry Doby to deal with.

So then the Brooklyn Dodgers moved their training camp from Florida to Havana, Cuba, again to deal with some of those problems, and the New York Giants moved their training camp from Florida to Arizona, and that is the advent of spring training being held in different areas around the country.

He was a pioneer. He changed not just the baseball world, he changed society. All of us should be proud of what Larry Doby did.

In my City of Cleveland where he played his best, most important baseball, he played in two World Series, made a difference in the last time the Indians won the World Series in 1949, but more importantly, what he did later with his life in Paterson, New Jersey, throughout the baseball world, and what he contributed to this country.