 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson signed with the National League Brooklyn Dodgers, Lawrence Eugene Dobie became the first black player in the American League, signing with the Cleveland Indians. Already a star with the Negro League, Newark Eagles, Dobie brought his powerful swing to Major League Baseball. He was the first African-American player to lead his league in homers, the second to play in the World Series, and the first to hit a home run in the series, and the first to win a World Series title. He made the All-Star team seven years in a row, and upon his retirement from Major League Baseball in 1962, Dobie, along with Don Newcomb, became the first former Major Leaguers to play for a Japanese ballclub in 1978. Dobie became the second African-American to manage a Major League team. Larry Dobie was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. Celebrating black history, I'm Megan Triplett.