remained in Camden. He lived with his grandmother before moving to live with his father's sister and brother-in-law from 1934 to 1938. He attended Jackson School, which was segregated under South Carolina state law. His first opportunity to play organized baseball came as a student at Boylan-Haven-Mather Academy, a private school affiliated with the Methodist church. Richard Dubose, who had managed Doby's father and was known locally in African-American circles for his baseball expertise, gave Doby some of his first baseball lessons. Reflecting on his years growing up in South Carolina, including how he and playmates used worn down broom handles for bats, Doby said, "Growing up in Camden, we didn't have baseball bats. We'd use a tree here, a tin can there, for bases." After completing eighth grade, Doby moved north to Paterson at the age of 14 to be reunited with his mother; she visited him weekly while he lived with one of her friends. At Paterson Eastside High School, Doby was a multi-sport athlete; as well as playing baseball and basketball, he was a wide receiver in football and lettered in track. After winning a state football championship, the Eastside team was invited to play in Florida, but the promoters would not allow Doby, the only black player on the team, to participate. Consequently, the team voted to forgo the trip as a gesture of support for Doby. During summer vacation Doby played baseball with a black semi-pro team, the Smart Sets, where he played with future Hall of Fame shortstop Monte Irvin. He also had a brief stint with the Harlem Renaissance, a professional basketball team, as an unpaid substitute player. Upon completing high school, he accepted an athletic scholarship to play basketball at Long Island University Brooklyn (LIU). Doby had been dating Eastside classmate Helyn Curvy since his sophomore year and, according to Doby, being able to remain close to Paterson was the "main reason" he selected LIU. In the summer before he enrolled at LIU, Doby accepted an offer to play for the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League (NNL) for the remainder of the 1942 season, and he transferred to Virginia Union University as a result. Negro leagues and World War II Negro league umpire Henry Moore advised Newark Eagles' owners Abe and Effa Manley to give Doby a tryout at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, which was successful; Doby joined the Eagles