The Pursuit of Happiness    
     Our "unalienable right" to pursue happiness has not been equally honored.  

   In the 1950's, this sheltered teenager was loyal to the Cleveland Indians. I can still name position players and at least five pitchers. Before players unionized, many stayed - happy or not - with the same team throughout their careers. Salaries ranged from $4,000 to - rarely - $40,000 a year.

   Larry Doby played center field. Rooted for him. He wore the right uniform; that's all that mattered. In 1954, when the Tribe won 111 of 154 games, Doby was an All-Star, and made $25,000. He is in the baseball Hall of Fame. 

   Only decades later did I learn he was the first black (I would have said, Negro) player in the American League, in July 1947. Only this week did I learn that he received death threats, ala Jackie Robinson of the Dodgers. The owner promised he would make history. Doby said, "I just want to play baseball."  

   Along came pitcher Jim "Mudcat" Grant, who recalls "difficult times." In September 1960, while singing the national anthem, he finished: "...and this land is not so free; I can't even go to Mississippi."   

   His bullpen coach overheard him; there were words, and Grant was suspended without pay. 

   "Mudcat" pitched in Cleveland four more years, then finished his 14-year career as a two-time All-Star. He was the first black pitcher in the league to win 20 games (with the Minnesota Twins in 1965). 

   Now 82, Grant doesn't regret his little protest, saying, if he was still in the game, he would be kneeling along with the others.  

Tomorrow: Wearing the other shoes

      Jimmy

PS. Yesterday we mailed letters to Major League Baseball and to the Indians suggesting that American League players wear Doby's No. 14 the day National Leaguers wear Robinson's No. 42, as both leagues currently do.