Larry Doby Lane unveiled in Paterson near recently restored Hinchliffe Stadium
PATERSON, N.J. -- Sports pioneer Larry Doby got a special honor in Paterson on Friday.
Doby was just the second Black man to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
Liberty Street in Paterson is now known as Larry Doby Lane. The ceremonial unveiling was handled by Doby's son, Larry Doby Jr.
"I'm sorry he's not here to see it," Doby Jr. said.
Doby Sr. followed Jackie Robinson from the Negro League into the majors and into the history books. He won a World Series Championship with the then-Cleveland Indians in 1948.
Doby Sr. was born in South Carolina but moved to Paterson as a teenager.
"This is where he first started excelling in athletics. This is where teachers and coaches took an interest in him, encouraged him, and you know, helped him achieve what he achieved," Doby Jr. said.
Doby Jr. said Paterson will always be special to his family, so having a street named after his father means a lot.
"It's a recognition of a love affair that my father had with this city and this city had with my father," Doby Jr. said.
Larry Doby Lane is, quite literally, in the shadow of the recently restored Hinchliffe Stadium, one of the last Negro League ballparks still standing.
Doby Sr. played multiple high school sports at Hinchliffe, including football and, of course, baseball. He even got his professional tryout with the Newark Eagles on that field.
Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh said Doby Sr.'s legacy will live on everywhere but especially here.
"He stared hate in the face and he didn't blink. Larry Doby played here. This is why it is the field of dreams. And this is why this is Larry Doby Lane," Sayegh said.
Doby Sr. passed away in 2003. Five years before that, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Wednesday, on what would have been his 100th birthday, Doby Sr. was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
