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Larry Doby Field in Paterson, N.J. getting $2.8 million makeover. Here's when it will reopen.

Paterson's Larry Doby Field undergoing $2.8 million makeover
Paterson's Larry Doby Field undergoing $2.8 million makeover 01:48

PATERSON, N.J. — An athletic field in New Jersey named for baseball and civil rights icon Larry Doby is getting a fresh look. 

Crews are hard at work at Larry Doby Field. Over the winter, new fencing will go up. The grass will be replaced by a new synthetic turf field which will be emblazoned with Doby's iconic #14. 

Doby was the second African American to play Major League Baseball, but was the first in the American League. He went on to have a Hall of Fame career

Cleveland Indians
Larry Doby, centerfielder of the Cleveland Indians, poses for a portrait during his rookie season in 1947. / Getty Images

"Larry Doby was a barrier breaker"

"For those of you that don't know, Larry Doby was a barrier breaker," Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh said. 

Doby was born in South Carolina, but moved to Paterson as a child. 

"He was a proud product of Paterson, particularly Eastside High School, where he starred in not one, not two, not three, but four sports," Sayegh said. 

Doby was honored with the field named after him and a statue of his likeness in 2002. 

Steve Gromek and Larry Doby Hugging
Happy Twosome. Cleveland Indians' Steve Gromek and Larry Doby hugging after winning game four of the World Series. Cleveland went on to win the series in six games. Bettmann/Getty Images

The rehab project will cost $2.8 million, and is being covered by COVID relief money Paterson got from the federal government, along with state funding. 

It's a worthy cause, says State Senator-elect Benjie Wimberly. 

"For not only the youth of Paterson, but Paterson overall. This is a great landmark," Wimberly said. 

It's hoped the field will reopen to the public in May. 

MLB: JUL 25 White Sox at Indians
25 July 2015: The family of Larry Doby unveil a statue of Larry Doby, the man who broke the American League color barrier, prior to the game between the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

About Larry Doby

Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947 by playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Just three months later, Doby joined him by playing with the Cleveland Indians, fully integrating Major League Baseball. 

"He and Robinson would occasionally talk on the telephone at night, and they would share some of their experiences. Robinson is in the National League and Doby's in the American League. They had a lot of similar experiences with racism, with the hatred directed toward them. I think that Doby appreciated what Robinson was doing, and that he was doing it in his own way," Doby biographer Joseph Moore previously told CBS News New York's Otis Livingston

Doby went on to become the first African American to hit a home run in the World Series in 1948. In 17 seasons, he twice led the American League in home runs, once in RBIs and runs. He finished with a career .288 batting average, 273 home runs, and played in nine All Star games. 

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