I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5621 

To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Lawrence Eugene 

‘‘Larry’’ Doby in recognition of his achievements and contributions to 

American major league athletics, civil rights, and the Armed Forces 

during WWII. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 5, 2016 

Mr. PASCRELL (for himself, Mr. RENACCI, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, 

Mr. RYAN of Ohio, and Mr. CARSON of Indiana) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Lawrence Eugene ‘‘Larry’’ Doby in recognition of his 

achievements and contributions to American major 

league athletics, civil rights, and the Armed Forces during WWII. 

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

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

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

6 Carolina, on December 12, 1923, and moved to 

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


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1 standout four sport athlete at Paterson Eastside 

2 High School. 

3 (2) Larry Doby attended Long Island Univer4 sity on a basketball scholarship before enlisting in 

5 the United States Navy during WWII. 

6 (3) Upon his honorable discharge from the 

7 Navy in 1946, Larry Doby played baseball in the 

8 Negro League for the Newark Eagles. After playing 

9 the 1946 season, Larry Doby’s contract was pur10 chased by the Cleveland Indians of the American 

11 League on July 3, 1947. 

12 (4) On July 5, 1947, Larry Doby became the 

13 first African-American to play in the American 

14 League. 

15 (5) Larry Doby played in the American League 

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

17 .283, with 253 home runs and 969 runs batted in. 

18 (6) Larry Doby was voted to seven all-star 

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

20 and played in two World Series; he was the first Af21 rican-American to play in the World Series and to 

22 hit a home run in a World Series game, both in 

23 1948. 

24 (7) After his stellar playing career ended, Larry 

25 Doby continued to make a significant contribution to 


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1 his community; he has been a pioneer in the cause 

2 of civil rights and has received honorary doctorate 

3 degrees from Long Island University, Princeton Uni4 versity, and Fairfield University. 

5 (8) In 1978, Larry Doby became the manager 

6 of the Chicago White Sox, only the second African7 American manager of a Major League team. 

8 (9) Larry Doby was the Director of Community 

9 Relations for the National Basketball Association’s 

10 New Jersey Nets, where he was deeply involved in 

11 a number of inner-city youth programs. 

12 (10) Larry Doby was elected to the National 

13 Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. 

14 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

15 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

16 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem17 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

18 for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, 

19 of a gold medal of appropriate design, to Larry Doby in 

20 recognition of his achievements and contributions to 

21 American major league athletics, civil rights and the 

22 Armed Forces during WWII. 

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

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

25 of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 


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1 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em2 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 

3 Secretary. 

4 (c) TRANSFER OF MEDAL AFTER PRESENTATION.— 

5 Following the presentation of the gold medal in honor of 

6 Larry Doby under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be 

7 given to his son, Larry Doby, Jr. 

8 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

9 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

10 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 

11 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

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

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

14 and the cost of the gold medal. 

15 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

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

17 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

18 of title 31, United States Code. 

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

20 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

21 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

22 items. 

Æ 


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