John Donaldson

Donaldson Network Discussion on SPNN Cable 19 St. Paul Sports Rap - 57:22 - Aug 12, 2008 - SPNN Cable 19 - johndonaldson.bravehost.com

Peter Gorton lead researcher for The Donaldson Network appears on Sports Rap with Qwame McDonald on SPNN Cable 19 in St. Paul Minnesota. Pete discusses the "Donaldson Network" and how it came about. The formation of the Donaldson Network and how the search for John Donaldson continues. John Wesley Donaldson was a great black baseball pitcher. His left handed delivery was featured on baseball diamonds across the United States. Gorton has developed a team of researchers, authors and historians to attempt to discover games of this baseball great. Currently the Network consists of over 400 contributors from dozens of states. John Donaldson and his career were nearly lost until the Donaldson Network began to piece his career numbers back together by looking for lost game accounts in local newspapers in hundreds of small town papers. The Donaldson Network can be followed by visiting johndonaldson.bravehost.com. We are always accepting help to restore the legacy of this baseball giant.

John Donaldson 1925 : Hand-cranked film footage - 00:38 - Aug 7, 2006 - johndonaldson.bravehost.com

John Wesley Donaldson was a southpaw pitcher who pitched for teams like the Tennessee Rats, the All-Nations Team, The Kansas City Monarchs, The Colored House of David, Bertha, Minnesota and several other teams including a host of All Star teams of his own (and Satchel Paige's!) The search is on all over the midwest and other parts of the country, where Donaldson played, to collect all of his box scores, newspaper clippings and game flyers. Why? Because he was one of the greatest players to ever live. He lived and played during his heyday long before African-American men were allowed into the major leagues. We believe the game of the film comes August 16, 1925 from Fergus Falls, Minnesota where Donaldson and the Bertha, Minnesota Team beat Battle Lake, Minnesota 11-2. John Donaldson had 18 strikeouts in this game. Check out our website, johndonaldson.bravehost.com for more information about Donaldson and how to help us research this great player. Finding this film is the sports world's equal to finding the Zapruder film, or the Lumiere brothers' film of workers walking out of a factory. It is cinema verite. It is kino pravda. It is the Oxley Film.

John Wesley Donaldson Profile - 05:06 - Mar 26, 2007 - johndonaldson.bravehost.com

John Wesley Donaldson (1891-1970). Known as a power pitcher, John Donaldson was the best left-handed barnstorming pitcher in black baseball history. During his prime seasons from 1911 to 1918, he “had near-perfect control,” according to noted historian Robert Peterson, and had a “sharp-breaking curve ball that was faster than most pitchers’ fastballs.” Upon the founding of the Negro League in 1920, he played mainly as a standout outfielder for the "top clubs," most notably the Kansas City Monarchs, into the 1930s. The star hurler of J. L. Wilkinson’s All Nations team, Donaldson first brought interracial baseball to hundreds of American cities. His 296 complete games came despite the rigors of constant travel. Donaldson's charisma and excellence was a countermeasure to the deep-seated prejudices of the era and his stellar character helped break down racial stereotypes. As of March 26, 2007, he has documented 235 wins and holds career marks of 3832 strikeouts that place him among the games all-time best. He was the best-known barnstorming pitcher in the decade before Satchel Paige, and Paige pitched on many diamonds where Donaldson had dominated earlier. Donaldson always had a stellar reputation in baseball circles. Former Negro League ballplayers selected John Donaldson as their first-team left-handed pitcher in the definitive 1952 Pittsburgh Courier poll; and his amazing lifetime 1.37 ERA proves he belonged there. Other polls from savvy insiders like Tweed Webb and the Chicago Defender writers echoed this judgment. Donaldson's talent even prompted Hall of Fame manager John McGraw of the New York Giants to say, “I think he is the greatest I ever have seen and I would give $50,000 for him if it weren’t for the color line in baseball.” After the fall of the color line Donaldson made history by becoming major league baseball’s first full-time black scout for the Chicago White Sox. Although the records of Donaldson’s achievements will never be complete, what has been uncovered has re-established his reputation as the premier left-handed barnstorming pitcher in black baseball during his career with the All Nations and also as a great outfielder with the Kansas City Monarchs.

John Donaldson Day Speech - 22:50 - June 11, 2005 - johndonaldson.bravehost.com

Pete Gorton delivers speech about John Donaldson in Glasgow Missouri for Donaldson Day festivities June 11, 2005. The presentation centers on the career of John Wesley Donaldson after his stint in the Negro National League. Photos and insights delivered from Bramble Hall.