Hailing from the nation's heartland and fast gaining recognition for being one of the greatest pitchers in the country, the now 27-year old southpaw John Donaldson makes his first venture East as a newly signed member of the Brooklyn Royal Giants.
Brooklyn was forced to seek out representative talent needed to replace the oft dominant, not to mention immensely popular and Dick "Cannonball" Redding, drafted into military service with the United States Army and deployed a few weeks ago overseas.
An eleven-year moundsman, Donaldson most recently pitched for the Indianapolis ABCs and winter ball for the Los Angeles White Sox before that. He is perhaps better known for his years hurling throughout the midwest for the All-Nations Club of Des Moines, Iowa.
"John Donaldson's departure (from the Indianapolis ABC's) was sudden. He left for the big city, where he will twirl ball for Nat Strong's Royal Giants. Donaldson's poor showing against the (Chicago) American Giants caused (ABC's manager, C.I.) Taylor to reduce his salary from $250 to $100 per month and John quit." - Chicago (IL) Defender, June 29, 1918, p.13, c.1/Donaldson Network.
Nat Strong is the preeminent booking agent in the East and owner of several teams, including the Brooklyn Royal Giants. For perspective sake, he proffers a curt answer to discrimination charges levied against him by manager Winter Williams of the Pennsylvania Red Caps regarding playing dates in which Nat Strong writes:
"The Royal Giants naturally want the best to be had and are willing to pay for it and have the highest salary list of any colored baseball club playing anywhere. We cannot use all the players of this country but only want sufficient for our team ... our salaried colored teams, hire ball players and give them a salary to do so and pay them regularly with cash." - The New York Age (New York, New York), Saturday, June 29, 1918, p.6, c.4
"The Brooklyn Royal Giants today signed pitcher John Donaldson. Donaldson is reputed to be the highest salaried colored pitcher in the country." - Monday, June 24, 1918 (The Standard Union, Brooklyn New York), p.8, c.5.
John Donaldson begins his baseball career at age seventeen in (his hometown) Glasgow, Missouri, where he plays for the Hannaca Blues and the Higbee Tigers. In 1911, he performs for W.A. Brown's Tennessee Rats until allying with the All Nations the following year and through to the 1918 season, while also playing for Lehigh (Iowa), the Kansas City Colts, and the Florida Hotel League before arriving in California.
BEDFORD & SULLIVAN PODCAST: Restoring Baseball Great John Donaldson's Lost Legacy With Negro Leagues Historian and Founder of The Donaldson Network, Peter Gorton.
Minnesota native Peter Gorton leads a group of historians dedicated to discovering the lost legacy of John Wesley Donaldson. In this episode, we discuss the man, baseball career, and life of one of the more incredible and inspiring athletes to ever play the game, and how his amazing legacy became lost to a nation, most particularly Baseball's Hall of Fame.
Original airdate: March 13, 2021.
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