Cleveland legend Larry Doby honored with Congressional Gold Medal

On what would have been his 100th birthday this week (December 13), Cleveland baseball legend Larry Doby received quite the honor when his son was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal.

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award that is given in the United States and was awarded to Doby in recognition of his 17-year Hall of Fame career and his contributions to the civil rights movement. Doby was also a World War II veteran.

During his time in Cleveland, Doby was named to seven All-Star games, and played in two World Series, winning the 1948 series with the then-Indians. Doby broke the American League color barrier on July 5, 1947, and he would later become just the second black manager when he took the reins for the Chicago White Sox on June 30, 1978.

He spent ten seasons with Cleveland, where he still ranks eighth all-time in team history with 215 home runs, ninth in RBI (776), and tenth in runs with 808. The Veteran's Committee elected Larry into the Baseball Hall of Fame in March 1998. In addition, the Indians retired his number before opening Jacob's Field in 1994.

Now, if only Major League Baseball would finally let the Guardians honor Doby every July 5th by allowing the team to wear his #14, similar to how the entire league honors Jackie Robinson.