John Donaldson, rated one of the greatest southpaws ever to step on the mound, has been signed by a major league team. But slender southpaw will not be tossing up his twisters to puzzle batters; instead, he'll be scouring the oods and beating the bushes in search of promising young players for the Chicago White Sox.
    Take 30 years off John Donaldson's age and he could sign with the White Sox as a starting pitcher. In his youth Donaldson had the native ability to win a pitching assignment with any major league club.
    He gained his greatest fame as a pitcher with the All-Nations, a team composed of all races and creeds that was organized by J.L. Wilkinson, former owner of the Kansas City Monarchs. The All-Nations campaigned mostly in the west. Jimmy Lyons and Hurley McNair, two great outfielders, were also members of the All-Nations.
    Donaldson later joined the Kansas City Monarchs, and, in his declining years, was a member of the Detroit Stars under the late John (Tenny) Blount.
    Pete Hill, manager and crack outfielder; Bruce (Buddy) Petway and Frank Duncan, outfielder, were also members of the Detroit Stars at the time.
    Donaldson now joins Harold (Yellowhorse) Morris, scouting for the Chicago cubs, in seeking young Negro ball players.

    Major league owners have started a new nation-wide search for Negro players.
    The 16 clubs have their scouts combing the woods and beating the bushes for raw material of ebony hue. Moreover, several clubs have hired Negro scouts to search for players.
    The Chicago Cubs signed Harold (Yellowhorse) Morris, former pitcher for the Detroit Stars, Kansas City Monarchs, and Chicago American Giants some weeks ago. Morris will work on the Pacific Coast.
    And last week the Chicago White Sox signed John Donaldson, former crack pitcher and outfielder for the All-Nations, Detroit Stars, and Kansas City Monarchs, to scout Negro players and submit to the Comiskey clan good prospects.
    Donaldson started with the All-Nations, then owned and operated by J.L. Wilkinson, former owner of the Kansas City Monarchs. He later played with the Detroit Stars, under the ownership of the late John (Tenny) Blount. Pete Hill was manager of the Stars at that time, and on the team were such stars as Bruce (Buddy) Petway, Jimmy Lyons, and Floyd (Jelly) Gardner, and Frank Duncan, crack outfielder.
    Other major league clubs have had their scouts watching Negro players in the Negro American league, and a flock of them will be at the East-West game in Chicago August 14. All of which caused one veteran fan to moan: "The major league owners are just about 25 years late.
    They should have had their scouts looking over men like Frank Wickware, Pete Hill, Judy Gans, John Henry Lloyd, Jose Mendez, Petway, Oscar Chaleston, Christobel Torrientti, Frank Warfield, Dick Lundy, Josh Gibson, Andrew (Rube) Foster, Bill Foster, Dick Redding, and many, many others who could have won positions on any major league team.
    But this new move on the part of the major league owners will act as an impetus to develop more good Negro players because it will provide the incentive for the youngsters."
    Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, made the first move toward this search in 1946 when he signed Jackie Robinson, then with the Kansas City Monarchs, sending him to the Montreal Royals for a year.
    Since coming up to the Dodgers in 1947, Robinson has fully backed Rickey with some timely hitting, good fielding and daring base running. Today he is leading the national league in hitting, runs batted in, hits and runs scored.
    Further, he paced all National league layers in the poll for the All-Star game, collecting 1,891,212 votes to win a berth in the National League starting lineup at second base.
    The Dodgers later signed Roy Campanella, who finished second in the poll for catchers, and Don Newcombe, the big righthander who has won five games and lost two since joining the Dodgers in June.
    The Cleveland Indians signed Larry Doby from the Newark Eagles in 1947, and later added Leroy (Satchel) Paige to the lineup. In addition, the Indians have signed a large number of Negro players and sent them to their minor league farm teams.
    What has been the reaction of the baseball fans throughout the country about Negro ball players in the major leagues?
    This reaction has been expressed through the turnstiles of the various parks. Since the Dodgers signed Robinson and Campanella, and the Indians added Doby and Paige to their lineups, they have become the best gate attractions in the country. And the Indians have continued to draw big crowds, although they are in third place in the American League standings, seven and one-half off the pace.
    As hard-headed businessmen, major league owners have taken notice of the gate appeal of Robinson, Campanella, Doby and Paige. And those owners just love to hear the turnstiles click.
    After watching the play of Robinson, Campanella, Doby and Paige, and seeing the big crowds pour through the gates when the Dodgers and Indians play, other owners decided that they can not only improve the play of their teams by adding Negro players, but also build up a larger attendance at all games.

    John Donaldson, great Negro southpaw of All-Nations pitching fame was signed this week as a talent scout for the Chicago White Sox.
    Donaldson, rated one of the greatest southpaws ever to step on a mound, will join Harold (Yellowhorse) Morris, in scouting for promising young Negro ball players for the Sox.
    Playing with the Kansas City Monarchs, and other Negro clubs, Donaldson gained his greatest fame campaigning with the All-Nations team under the leadership of J. L. Wilkinson, former owner of the Kansas City Monarchs.