Once Upon A Summer 8/18/1918: Tietjen & Lang Shipyard Nine Defeat John Donaldson and the Brooklyn Royal Giants at North Bergen, N.J.

From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS & THE DONALDSON NETWORK

New York Herald, Sunday, August 18, 1918

On Sunday, August 18, 1918, the Brooklyn Royal Giants were defeated by the Tietjen & Lang Shipyard nine at Nurge's Field, North Bergen, New Jersey.

The Morning News (Wilmington, Delaware), 

Tuesday, August 20, 1918

Times Union (Brooklyn,, New York), 

Sunday, August 18, 1918

In accordance with the government's Work Or Fight edict, the Tietjen & Lang aggregation, similar to the New York Ship League Team, field a well-fortified nine featuring variously experienced major leaguers such as Paul Smith, former New York Yankees Ping Bodie, Hank Thormahlen, and their most recent arrival Ray Caldwell who by all indications quit the Yankees unbeknownst to manager Miller Huggins this very weekend.

Starting for Tietjen & Lang, left-hander Hank Thormahlen limits the Royal Giants to a pair of runs in the second inning.  Afterwhich, Thormahlen holds Brooklyn scoreless over the final seven innings with seven strikeouts (Smith putouts) for the win.  The Royal Giants are held to just five hits, two by first baseman Rafael Figarola, who, with catcher John Cason, score Brooklyn's only runs.  

Southpaw John Donaldson yields one run in the first, then hurls four scoreless frames before the Tietjen & Langs bunch together three decisive runs in the sixth.  The home team posts one last run in the eighth en route to a 5-2 final score.  Donaldson allows just five hits and strikes out four (Cason putouts) in the loss.  Ping Bodie with over 600 games of major league experience accounts for two of Tietjen & Lang's hits.

The New York Age (New York, New York), 

Saturday, August 24, 1918

⚾

BROOKLYN ROYAL GIANTS

ONCE UPON A SUMMER, 1918: JOHN DONALDSON'S LONE SEASON WITH THE BROOKLYN ROYAL GIANTS

• 6/28 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Acquire Midwest Pitching Great, John Donaldson
• 6/30 - John Donaldson Loses Brooklyn Royal Giants Debut To New York Lincoln Giants
• 7/3 - John Donaldson Poised To Make Brooklyn/Queens Debut At Dexter Park
• 7/4 - John Donaldson Twirls Shutout Over Cuban Stars In Dexter Park Debut
• 7/7 - Joe Williams Wins Second Straight Decision Over John Donaldson; Lincoln Giants and Royal Giants Split Twin Bill
• 7/13 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Glendale at Farmer's Oval, Queens
• 7/14 - John Donaldson Defeats Bushwick; Royal Giants Split Twin Bill At Dexter Park
• 7/15 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Take Series Opener From Atlantic City Bacharach Giants
• 7/16 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Take Game Two from Bacharach Giants; John Donaldson Earns The Victory
• 7/17 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Wrap Up Series With Bacharach Giants at Atlantic City
• 7/18 - N.Y. Ship League Team Defeat Brooklyn Royal Giants at Camden, New Jersey
• 7/21 - Cuban Stars Double-Up Brooklyn Royal Giants; John Donaldson Takes Loss at Dexter Park
• 7/24 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Bow To Stan Baumgartner and Bethlehem Steel at Allentown, PA
• 7/27 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Camp Dix Soldiers*
• 7/28 - Silk Sox Clout John Donaldson's Offerings; Brooklyn Royal Giants Fall at Doherty's Oval
• 8/3 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Prospect Heights at Hackensack*
• 8/4 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Forfeit Game To Glendale at Farmer's Oval
• 8/7 - Bethlehem Steel Team Hosts a Scoreless Tie Against Brooklyn Royal Giants
• 8/11 - New York Lincoln Giants and Royal Giants Split Twin Bill at Olympic Field; Joe "Cyclone" Williams Wins Opener, John Donaldson Wins Game Two
• 8/17 - New York Ship Wins Second Contest Against Brooklyn Royal Giants at Camden, N.J.

LHP - JOHN DONALDSON'S STARTS w/ BROOKLYN:

1. 6/30/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 2 runs, 7 hits, 2 W, 2K (Lincoln Giants; Olympic Field)
2. 7/4/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 0 RUNS, 5 hits, 1 W, 6K (Cuban Stars; Dexter Park)
3. 7/7/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 3 runs, 9 hits, 2 W, 2K (Lincoln Giants; Olympic Field)
4. 7/14/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 1 run, 7 hits, 1 W, 5K (Bushwick; Dexter Park)
5. 7/16/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 4 runs, 14 hits, (?) W, 6K* (Atlantic City; Bacharach Park, N.J.)
6. 7/21/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 6 runs, 10 hits, 4 W, 1 K (Cuban Stars; Dexter Park)
7. 7/28/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 9 runs, 16 hits, 2 W, 3 K (Silk Sox, Doherty's Oval, N.J.)
8. 8/11/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 2 runs, 13 hits, (?) W, (?) K (Lincoln Giants, Olympic Field)
9. 8/18/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 5 runs, 5 hits, (?) W, 4 K (Tietjen & Lang, Nurge's Field, N.J.)

• LINE: 81 innings, 32 runs, 86 hits, 12 walks, 29 strikeouts, 3.55 ERA 

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