Baseball Hall of Famer and civil rights icon Larry Doby, who broke the color barrier in the American League in 1947, 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson became the first player of color to play in modern major league baseball, lived in Montclair for more than 40 years before he died in 2003 at age 79.

The New York Times wrote, "In glorifying those who are first, the second is often forgotten ... Larry Doby integrated all those American League ball parks where Jackie Robinson never appeared. And he did it with class and clout."

Doby was named an All-Star seven times in a 13-year playing career, was the first African American to hit a home run in a World Series and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on July 26, 1998.

Doby lived in Montclair from 1960; he and his wife raised their children in their home on Nishuane Road.  Doby died on June 18, 2003, at his home in Montclair, at age 79 after battling cancer. President George W. Bush made the following statement:

Larry Doby was a good and honorable man, and a tremendous athlete and manager. He had a profound influence on the game of baseball, and he will be missed. As the first African American player in the American League, he helped lead the Cleveland Indians to their last World Series title in 1948, became a nine-time All-Star and was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. Laura joins me in sending our condolences to Larry's family during this difficult time.

Doby has received many honors -- including been honored by both Cleveland and Paterson, where he grew up, but up until now, Montclair has not done anything to formally honor Doby and his role in African American history.

The city of Paterson, New Jersey, renamed the Eastside Park baseball field "Larry Doby Field."  The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Little Falls has a section named the Larry Doby Wing. Doby has also been honored with a postage stamp as well as the Larry Doby Post Office in Paterson. In 2015, Cleveland honored Doby with a statue outside of Progressive Field

Members of Doby's family confirmed that a proposal was made to honor Doby by naming a baseball field after him, but nothing ever became of it. Naming a Montclair ball field after Doby, ideally at Nishuane Park, will ensure that Doby's story will continue to be told and inspire future generations to take on racism and fight for civil rights.