ALL STAR

Larry Doby was an athletic phenom.

Often overshadowed by Jackie Robinson, the first Black player in the National League, Doby deserves his due as the first Black person to play in the American League. As a boy growing up in the 1920s, young Larry dreamed of playing professional baseball long before such opportunities were open to Black people. In his unsegregated South Carolina neighborhood, sports played an important role, bringing families and people of different races together. In high school, Doby flourished athletically and was afforded a spot in the Negro Leagues; nevertheless, he did not see a long-term career in professional baseball as a possibility. After graduating, while serving in the Navy in 1947, Doby changed his mind after learning of the historic signing of Jackie Robinson to the major leagues. The story goes on to describe Doby’s pioneering accomplishments as a sportsman as well as the racial discrimination he endured. Chapman’s textured digital art effectively makes use of interesting perspectives to create striking visuals, but the text fails at capturing the extent of the racial prejudice Doby had to overcome both on and off the field. The idea that “Change never stops” is a repeated motif, yet the references to social change feel a bit superficial since the book neglects to mention the decadelong campaign Black and White journalists and activists waged to desegregate baseball.

An important story that we still have a lot to learn from, but this telling of it at times feels emotionally disconnected.