Thursday, the 5th, was a very important day in Major League history. There were all kinds of articles on Larry Doby, which made him a lot more visible, I think than anyone really thought he’d be. No, all the teams didn’t decide to switch over and wear the number 14 to honor him, and it is my understanding that the Tigers still did very little to make it known. But the broadcast media, ESPN, and the announcers seemed to at least recognize him. And the flurry of articles about his life and legacy reached beyond the staple “he was the second (so does he really count?).”
I spent most of the day reading through articles, then switched back to trying to make progress with trips, my books, and my cataloguing. Friday was much of the same, and the work is slow because I seem to second guess myself, or rethink a lot of my ideas.
But today was the big day, because I got an email from Professor Lapchick pushing me in a direction. I had outlined my project and asked for his help, and though he said he’ll be traveling for a couple weeks, I’m looking forward to talking at more length with him about some of the work he’s done. I think I mentioned that I had read his book, but he seemed excited about my work and what it might do, especially this year, to get some more tangibles on the table for people to examine.
He also sent me a lot more reading material and offices to contact, some of which I’ve read, and used as inspiration or models for how I should handle the statistics that I’ve been given. Receiving a response from someone like him, in my opinion, would be like asking Jesse Jackson to look over your civil rights paper before turning it in.
I’m really excited.
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