The decision to honor the Negro leaguers with a separate exhibit received significant criticism. Sportswriter Jim Murray of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote, "They segregated the Hall of Fame! ... To have kept Satchel Paige from playing in the white leagues for 24 years and then bar him from the pearly gates on the grounds he didn't play the required 10 years the major leagues is a shocking bit of insolent cynicism, a disservice to America. What is this – 1840? Either let him in the front of the hall – or move the damn thing to Mississippi." Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League, commented, "With another wing ... whatever good they've done, they've torn it down."