On Saturday, September 14, 1918, the Brooklyn Royal Giants played the Tietjen and Lang Shipbuilders team. This was a return match for John Donaldson, who, on Sunday, August 18, took the loss in a 5-2 contest at Nurge's Field. Unfortunately, a full account of this game is yet to be found. The Friday, September 20, 1918, edition of the Jersey Journal, Jersey City, reports the Royal Giants defeated the Tietjen and Lang club but no score is provided.
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The backdrop to the 1918 season is, of course, the World War raging in Europe. Major League baseball played an abbreviated season. The Brooklyn Dodgers ended their 126 game season on September 2 at Philadelphia. The Yankees managed 123 games.
Due to the government's edict of Work of Fight, many industrial aggregations, such as the New York Ship League Team, Bethlehem Steel, Morse Dry Dock, and the Tietjen and Lang team, were very well fortified with major league talent. In fact, in a similar situation, it was the Brooklyn Royal Giants who handed the Camp Mills Soldiers their first defeat this season. Otherwise, some players, like St. Louis' first baseman George Sisler, elected instead to fight.
As noted in the above news clip, the Tietjen and Lang club this day would have featured former Yankee Hal Chase, New York Giant George Burns, and Ollie O'Mara from the Dodgers. When Tietjen and Lang last played the Royal Giants, they featured from the Yankees pitchers Hank Thormahlen and
Ray Caldwell, and outfielders Ping Bodie from the White Sox and Paul Smith, formerly with Cincinnati.
Beyond the realm of Negro teams and their respective stars and future Hall of Famers and the strong local semipros, this further attests to a discernible and representative level of professional competition the 27-year old John Donaldson faced during is his only venture East.
Before he arrived in Brooklyn, John Donaldson had authored no less than eight no-hitters, his most recent coming on July 16, 1917, at Julesburg, Colorado. Among other teams, Donaldson most notably played for J.L. Wilkinson's All-Nations, Kansas City Colts, the winter league Los Angeles White Sox, and Indianapolis ABCs.
On Sunday, September 15, the Brooklyn Royal Giants return to Dexter Park. They will play a twin bill against Bushwick, who will feature former major league pitcher Lefty Russell, joined by the aforementioned Ollie O'Mara, shortstop Babe Ellison formerly of Detroit, and Casey Stengel of the Pirates.
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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.
- 8/18 - The Tietjen & Lang Shipyard Nine Defeat John Donaldson and the Brooklyn Royal Giants, North Bergen, N.J.
- 8/24 - Morse Dry Dock BBC Defeat Royal Giants in John Donaldson's True Brooklyn Debut
- 8/25 - Irvin Brooks Twirls Shutout; Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Glendale at Farmer Oval, Queens
- 9/1 - New York Lincoln Giants Sweep Twin Bill From Royal Giants at Olympic Field; Joe "Cyclone" Williams Earns Dual Victory, John Donaldson Suffers Loss in Second Tilt
- 9/2 - Brooklyn Royal Giants and Cuban Stars Split Games of a Doubleheader at Dexter Park
- 9/4 - Southpaw John Donaldson Hands Camp Mills Their First Loss This Season; Brooklyn Royal Giants Win, 7 to 6
- 9/8 - John Donaldson's Return Match Against Morse Dry Dock Along Brooklyn Waterfront Likely Rained Out
- 9/12 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Glendale in Eleven Innings at Farmer's Oval, Queens
LHP - JOHN DONALDSON'S PITCHING RECORD w/ BROOKLYN:
- 6/30/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 2 runs, 7 hits, 2 W, 2 K (Lincoln Giants; Olympic Field)
- 7/4/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 0 RUNS, 5 hits, 1 W, 6 K (Cuban Stars; Dexter Park)
- 7/7/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 3 runs, 9 hits, 2 W, 2 K (Lincoln Giants; Olympic Field)
- 7/14/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 1 run, 7 hits, 1 W, 5 K (Bushwick; Dexter Park)
- 7/16/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 4 runs, 14 hits, (?) W, 6 K* (Atlantic City; Bacharach Park, N.J.)
- 7/21/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 6 runs, 10 hits, 4 W, 1 K (Cuban Stars; Dexter Park)
- 7/28/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 9 runs, 16 hits, 2 W, 3 K (Silk Sox; Doherty's Oval, N.J.)
- 8/11/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 2 runs, 13 hits, (?) W, (?) K (Lincoln Giants; Olympic Field)
- 8/18/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 5 runs, 5 hits, (?) W, 4 K (Tietjen & Lang; Nurge's Field, N.J.)
- 8/24/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 8 runs, 19 hits, 1 W, 2 K (Morse Dry Dock; Brooklyn)
- 9/1/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 4 runs, 14 hits, (?) W, (?) K (Lincoln Giants; Olympic Field)
- 9/2/1918 - (L) 2 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 W, 1 K (Cuban Stars; Dexter Park)
- 9/4/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 6 runs, 7 hits, (?) W, (?) K (Camp Mills, Garden City, NY)
- 9/14/1918 - (W) No account vs. Teitjen and Lang Ship Club (Nurge's Field, N.J.)
- LINE: 110 innings, 51 runs, 128 hits, 13 walks, 31 strikeouts, 4.17 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
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