Origin
Baseball Hall-of-Famer Larry Doby was the first Black player in the American League, making his debut with the Cleveland Indians in July 1947, three months after Jackie Robinson had broken the color line in Major League Baseball by starting the season with the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League.
Although Robinson’s earlier entry into the big leagues somewhat eased the way for Doby to integrate the American League, the challenge and difficulties Doby faced were similar. As Doby later said: “It was eleven weeks between the time Jackie Robinson and I came into the majors. Eleven weeks. Come on. Whatever happened to him happened to me.”