S*0687 Concurrent Resolution, By Jackson, Holland and Passailaigue
 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO CONGRATULATE MR. LARRY DOBY, A NATIVE SOUTH
 CAROLINIAN, ON THE OCCASION OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS INTEGRATION OF
 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL'S AMERICAN LEAGUE.

   04/23/97  Senate Introduced, adopted, sent to House SJ-5
   04/24/97  House  Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence HJ-13

TO CONGRATULATE MR. LARRY DOBY, A NATIVE SOUTH CAROLINIAN, ON THE OCCASION OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS INTEGRATION OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL'S AMERICAN LEAGUE.

Whereas, July 5, 1997, will mark the 50th Anniversary of Larry Doby's baseball debut with the Cleveland Indians, an event which also served as the integration of the Major League Baseball's American League; and

Whereas, Mr. Doby is a "native son" of South Carolina, having been born in Camden on December 13, 1924, and having resided in Camden until his teen years; and

Whereas, Mr. Doby's accomplishments on the field include being the first African-American to hit a home run in the World Series, to play for a World Series champion, and to win a home run title; and

Whereas, Mr. Doby was also among the first African-Americans to appear in a Baseball All-Star Game and was selected for six consecutive All-Star teams; and

Whereas, Mr. Doby hit more than two hundred-fifty home runs and drove in almost one thousand runs in a productive thirteen-year career; and

Whereas, Mr. Doby also became the second African-American to manage a Major League Baseball team, serving as the manager of the Chicago White Sox for part of the 1978 season; and

Whereas, Mr. Doby has continued to influence the game as an executive, first working with Major League Baseball Properties under former baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti and then, beginning in 1995, as Special Assistant to American League president Gene Budig; and

Whereas, the Cleveland Indians have retired Mr. Doby's uniform number, 14, and Mr. Doby is a member of the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame; and

Whereas, the Cleveland Indians will further recognize Mr. Doby's accomplishments on the anniversary date of his debut, July 5, 1997, as well as on July 8,1997, at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Cleveland's Jacobs Field; and

Whereas, Mr. Doby was accorded the opportunity to break the American League "color line" as a player and also to manage a baseball team by the late Mr. Bill Veeck who is the father of Mr. Mike Veeck, one of the present owners of the Charleston River Dogs minor league baseball team; and

Whereas, the Charleston River Dogs have a ceremony planned for May 19, 1997, in which the team will honor Mr. Doby with the dedication of the picnic area at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park as "Doby's Deck," an area where people can congregate in unity; and

Whereas, it is fitting that the General Assembly recognize the accomplishments of this great native South Carolinian. Now therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

That the members of the General Assembly congratulate Mr. Larry Doby, a native South Carolinian, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his integration of Major League Baseball's American League.