Jackson: House approves Congressional Gold Medal for Larry Doby

From Herb Jackson at NorthJersey.com on July 11, 2018:

The second man to break the race barrier in Major League Baseball, Larry Doby, may get the same honor from Congress that the first, Jackie Robinson, got 15 years ago.

With a unanimous voice vote Tuesday, the House approved a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Doby, a South Carolina native who was a four-sport athlete at Paterson’s Eastside High School and was first seen by major league scouts when he played at Hinchliffe Stadium.

The bill still must pass the Senate, which is not guaranteed because of high procedural hurdles to awarding the medals.

Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., a Democrat from Paterson credited by colleagues from both parties with driving the bill to the floor, said Doby faced the same abuse Robinson did when he played, including having to eat at separate restaurants and sleep at separate hotels.

Read the full article here: https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/new-jersey/2018/07/11/house-oks-congressional-gold-medal-civil-rights-pioneer-larry-doby/770919002/



Originally published: July 12, 2018. Last Updated: July 12, 2018.