![Dizzy Gillespie(1917-1993) was a famous Jazz trumpeter who was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. At an early age, he and his family moved to Philadelphia. From the 1930s to the 1990s, Gillespie left his mark with a jazz variation known as "bebop", a term which he used as the title of his autobiography "To Be or not to Bop." ](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/hash/01/03/1359990066_2295_Dizzy%20Gillespie.jpg?itok=8Bx86a4l "Dizzy Gillespie(1917-1993) was a famous Jazz trumpeter who was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. At an early age, he and his family moved to Philadelphia. From the 1930s to the 1990s, Gillespie left his mark with a jazz variation known as "bebop", a term which he used as the title of his autobiography "To Be or not to Bop." "){kind=small}
As we continue our observance of Black History Month, we remember baseball player Larry Doby in this article which ran on February 5, 2011.
Larry Doby (1923-2003) was the American League’s Jackie Robinson. As Robinson broke the color line in the National League with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Doby did the same in the American League with the Cleveland Indians.
Doby was a native of Camden, S.C., but grew up in New Jersey. Originally wanting to teach and coach in high school, Doby was recruited by an umpire to play for the Newark Eagles in the Negro Leagues in 1942. At first, Doby harbored no illusions about playing in the Major Leagues but that changed after Robinson signed a contract to play with the Montreal Royals, a Brooklyn farm team, in 1946. When Robinson joined the Dodgers the following year, it was only a matter of time for other black ballplayers.
Doby became the first African-American to play in the American league 11 weeks after Robinson. Playing for the Indians from 1947-55, he also played for the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. He retired in 1959. A career .283 hitter, Doby was named to the All-Star team 7 times. He played in the 1948 World Series (the last time the Indians won), hitting a home run in game 4, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998 by the Veterans Committee.
After his playing career ended, Doby coached the Indians, White Sox, where he had a brief stint as manager in the 1970s, and Montreal Expos. He also worked for the Commissioner’s Office and as director of Community Relations for the NBAs New Jersey(now Brooklyn) Nets
Doby has not been forgotten by his home town. The Kershaw County Recreation Department maintains the Larry Doby Complex at 1400 Old River Road in Camden. There is also a Larry Doby Field in Paterson, N.J. Doby died in 2003.
See the list for other prominent African-American South Carolinians.
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![Dizzy Gillespie(1917-1993) was a famous Jazz trumpeter who was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. At an early age, he and his family moved to Philadelphia. From the 1930s to the 1990s, Gillespie left his mark with a jazz variation known as "bebop", a term which he used as the title of his autobiography "To Be or not to Bop." ](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/01/03/1359990066_2295_Dizzy%20Gillespie.jpg?itok=H3epSoao "Dizzy Gillespie(1917-1993) was a famous Jazz trumpeter who was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. At an early age, he and his family moved to Philadelphia. From the 1930s to the 1990s, Gillespie left his mark with a jazz variation known as "bebop", a term which he used as the title of his autobiography "To Be or not to Bop." ")
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