II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1861 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 11, 2018 

Received 

AN ACT 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of Lawrence 

Eugene ‘‘Larry’’ Doby in recognition of his achievements 

and contributions to American major league athletics, 

civil rights, and the Armed Forces during World War 

II. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘The Larry Doby Con3 gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) Larry Doby was born in Camden, South 

7 Carolina, on December 13, 1923, and moved to 

8 Paterson, New Jersey, in 1938, where he became a 

9 standout four-sport athlete at Paterson Eastside 

10 High School; 

11 (2) Larry Doby attended Long Island Univer12 sity on a basketball scholarship before enlisting in 

13 the United States Navy during World War II; 

14 (3) upon his honorable discharge from the Navy 

15 in 1946, Larry Doby played baseball in the Negro 

16 National League for the Newark Eagles; 

17 (4) after playing the 1946 season, Larry Doby’s 

18 contract was purchased by the Cleveland Indians of 

19 the American League on July 3, 1947; 

20 (5) on July 5, 1947, Larry Doby became the 

21 first African-American to play in the American 

22 League; 

23 (6) Larry Doby played in the American League 

24 for 13 years, appearing in 1,533 games and batting 

25 .283, with 253 home runs and 970 runs batted in; 


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1 (7) Larry Doby was voted to seven All-Star 

2 teams, led the American League in home runs twice, 

3 and played in two World Series; 

4 (8) in 1948, Larry Doby helped lead the Cleve5 land Indians to a World Series Championship over 

6 the Boston Braves and became the first African7 American player to hit a home run in a World Series 

8 game; 

9 (9) after his stellar playing career ended, Larry 

10 Doby continued to make a significant contribution to 

11 his community; 

12 (10) Larry Doby was a pioneer in the cause of 

13 civil rights and received honorary doctorate degrees 

14 from Long Island University, Princeton University, 

15 and Fairfield University; 

16 (11) in 1978, Larry Doby became the manager 

17 of the Chicago White Sox, only the second African18 American manager of a Major League Baseball 

19 team; 

20 (12) Larry Doby was the Director of Commu21 nity Relations for the New Jersey Nets of the Na22 tional Basketball Association, where he was deeply 

23 involved in a number of inner-city youth programs; 

24 and 


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1 (13) Larry Doby was inducted to the National 

2 Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. 

3 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

4 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

5 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem6 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

7 for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold 

8 medal of appropriate design, in honor of Larry Doby and 

9 in recognition of his achievements and contributions to 

10 American major league athletics, civil rights, and the 

11 Armed Forces during World War II. 

12 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purpose of the 

13 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

14 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec15 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

16 devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Sec17 retary. 

18 (c) TRANSFER OF MEDAL AFTER PRESENTATION.— 

19 Following the presentation of the gold medal in honor of 

20 Larry Doby pursuant to subsection (a), the gold medal 

21 shall be given to his son, Larry Doby, Jr. 

22 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

23 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

24 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 

25 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 


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1 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 

2 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 

3 and the cost of the gold medal. 

4 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

5 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck under 

6 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

7 of title 31, United States Code. 

8 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

9 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

10 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

11 items. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 10, 2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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