OTD 6/29/1924: Catasauqua A.A. Defeat Dick "Cannonball" Redding and Brooklyn Royal Giants

From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS

The Morning Call (Allentown, PA), Monday, June 30, 1924

In a non-Eastern Colored League matchup, the Brooklyn Royal Giants ventured one hundred miles west to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where Charlie Albert's Catasauqua A.A. team greeted them at Clearview Field.

Brooklyn took a one run lead in the second.  But the home team countered in the fourth.  Right-hander Dick "Cannonball" Redding, rated as the greatest colored pitcher in the country, was easy pickin's for the Iron Borough batters.  Two singles, two doubles and pitcher Ray Kepner's home run staked Catasauqua to a 5-1 lead from which the Royal Giants would not recover.

The locals added single runs in the fifth and eighth frames.  Brooklyn fell short with one run in the sixth and two in the ninth.  Both teams welded twelve hits.  First baseman Eddie Douglass finished 2 for 5, with a game-high ten putouts.  The Royal Giants committed no errors, but stranded ten men on base.  Right fielder Irvin Brooks finished 3 for 5 with a home run.

Cannonball Redding walked two and struck out three in losing effort.

OTD Brooklyn Semipros 9/7/1925: Bay Ridge Athletic Club and Brooklyn Royal Giants Split Doubleheader at Graham Oval

From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS

The Brooklyn Citizen, 

Tuesday, September 8, 1925

On Monday, September 7, 1925, not more than two miles from where I presently live, the Brooklyn Royal Giants and host Bay Ridge Athletic Club split games of a doubleheader at Graham Oval, 15th Avenue at 86th Street. 

 

The Brooklyn Citizen, Tuesday, September 8, 1925

GAME ONE - Bay Ridge starter Eddie Lennen is opposed by Willis "Lefty" Flournoy for the Giants.  The visitors open the scoring in the second, and catcher John Cason homers in the third, giving the Royals a 2-0 lead.  Bay Ridge answers with one in the home half of the third.  Afterwhich, the score remains unchanged through the sixth.  The Bay Ridgers finally figure out Lefty Flournoy in the seventh, wielding three consecutive hits and prompting manager Eddie Douglass to summon Dick Redding into the game.  But "Cannonball" fares no better as the Bay Ridgers tally four runs en route to a 5-2 victory.  Eddie Lennen closes out the game with six scoreless innings.  All told, he limits the Royal Giants to a pair of runs on just six hits and three walks with four strikeouts for the win.  Flournoy walks six and strikes out five in the loss.

• FINAL: Royal Giants 2; Bay Ridge 5

BROOKLYN ROYAL GIANTS

The Brooklyn Citizen, Tuesday, September 8, 1925

GAME TWO - The Royal Giants turn the tables.  Bay Ridge starter Sandy Burke's offerings get knocked around the lot for eight runs on 13 hits, with four going for extra bases.  Center fielder Irvin Brooks leads the way with three hits, including a double and two runs scored.  Eddie Douglass doubles and scores twice, and catcher Charlie Spearman homers.  Right-hander Connie Rector holds Bay Ridge to three runs on ten hits, one for extra bases, and two walks with five strikeouts for the win.  The game is called after seven innings by mutual agreement.

• FINAL: Royal Giants 8; Bay Ridge 3

OTD in Barnstorming 8/31/1920: Brooklyn Royal Giants and Parkesburg (PA) Iron Company Duel to a Fifteen Inning Three-All Tie

From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS

Lancaster (PA) New Era, Wednesday, September 1, 1920

On Tuesday, August 31, 1920, the Brooklyn Royal Giants trek to Pennsylvania where they duel the Parkesburg Iron Company to a three-all tie after fifteen innings.  The game is called due to darkness.

Lancaster (PA) New Era, Wednesday, September 1, 1920

BROOKLYN ROYAL GIANTS

Starting for Parkesburg, Olsen goes the distance allowing three runs on six hits and just one walk with eleven strikeouts.  For Brooklyn, right-hander Jessie Hubbard yields three runs on seven hits and six walks with 13 strikeouts.

The Royal Giants open with a run in the first, but the Iron Company ties in the second.  The score then remains unchanged through the seventh inning.  Parkesburg plates a pair in the eighth, but the Giants respond with two of their own in the ninth, sending the game into extra innings.  After six more scoreless innings, darkness thwarts further play.

First baseman Eddie Douglass wields a double and scores.  Third baseman Louis Miller also hits safely, and scores and center fielder Tom Fiall accounts for Brooklyn's third run.

OTD Negro Leagues vs. Brooklyn Semipros 8/6/1925: The Bay Ridge Baseball Club and Brooklyn Royal Giants Split Games of a Twin Bill at Graham Field

From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS vs. BROOKLYN SEMIPROS

The Standard Union (Brooklyn, NY),

Thursday, August 6, 1925

On Thursday, August 6, 1925, not more than two miles from where I presently live, the local Ray Ridge Baseball Club and Brooklyn Royal Giants split a doubleheader at Graham Field, 15th Avenue at 86th Street.

The Standard Union (Brooklyn, NY), Saturday, August 8, 1925

GAME ONE - Thursday's opener features southpaw Willis Flournoy starting for the Royal Giants opposed by Eddie Lennon for Bay Ridge.  While each team totals just six hits apiece, it's the Ridgers who bunch theirs together a bit more effectively.  The Royals open the scoring in the second, then take a 2-0 lead in the third inning on catcher John Cason's home run.  Bay Ridge's first run comes in the bottom half of the frame due to subpar infield play on behalf of the Royals, who this game commits six fielding errors.  The pitching duel between Flournoy and Lennon resumes as the score remains unchanged through the sixth.  Then comes the home team's big four-run seventh, when they string together three consecutive hits to knock Flournoy out of the box.  Into the game enters Dick "Cannonball" Redding, who likewise fails to escape the frame unscathed.  Eddie Lennon closes out the game with two more scoreless innings, having surrendered just two runs on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts through nine complete.  Meanwhile, "Lefty" Flournoy, up until that fateful seventh, holds the Ridgers hitless through his first six innings pitched but issues five bases on balls with six strikeouts in losing effort.  Captain and first baseman Eddie Douglass accounts for two of Brooklyn's six scattered hits.  Whereas the lineup's two through seven batters for Bay Ridge each hit safely. 

The Standard Union (Brooklyn, NY), Saturday, August 8, 1925

GAME TWO - The second contest is an abbreviated seven-inning affair.  Brooklyn Royal Giants' starter Connie "Broadway" Rector hurls a gem, limiting Bay Ridge to just three hits and two walks with five strikeouts for the win.  Rector keeps the Ridgers scoreless through the first six innings until easing up and allowing three seventh-inning base runners to cross home plate.  Meanwhile, the Royal Giants have little problems solving Bay Ridge starter Sandy Burk who surrenders eight runs, often in bunches, on 13 hits and two walks in a losing effort.  Eddie Douglass goes 2 for 4 with two doubles, catcher Charlie Spearman starting in game two homers off Burk.  Center fielder Irvin Brooks 

leads the team with three hits, including a double and two runs scored, and third baseman Johnson Hill goes 2 for 3 with two runs en route to an 8-3 victory over Bay Ridge and twin bill split. 

EASTERN COLORED LEAGUE

BROOKLYN ROYAL GIANTS

The Pittsburgh Courier (Pittsburgh, PA), August 8, 1925

Once Upon A Summer 7/18/1918: N.Y. Ship League Team Defeats Brooklyn Royal Giants at Camden, New Jersey

From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS & THE DONALDSON NETWORK

The Morning Post (Camden, New Jersey), July 17, 1918

On Thursday, July 18, 1918, the New York Ship League Team defeats the Brooklyn Royal Giants at Camden, New Jersey.

The Morning Post (Camden, New Jersey),

Friday, July 19, 1918

In a tightly contested affair, N.Y. Ship League starter Jack Barnard, despite four fielding errors, limits the Giants to a pair of runs on just five hits for the win.  Barnard's battery mate, Hyde, drives home the game's decisve run in the sixth with a double.  In a similar, albeit losing effort, Brooklyn starter Irvin Brooks yields three runs on five hits, two by Hyde.  Second baseman Joe Hewitt weilds two hits and scores a run; first baseman Eddie Douglass  accounts for one hit and Brooklyn's second run.  Right fielder Johnny Pugh, and John Donaldson, pinch-hitting in the seventh inning for John Cason, account for Brooklyn's only other hits.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 19, 1918

⚾

LHP - JOHN DONALDSON 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)

• LINE: 45 innings, 10 runs, 42 hits, 6 walks, 21 strikeouts, 2.00 ERA

• Since joining Brooklyn, John Donaldson has been to the plate no less than eleven times, with eight hits, including a triple and two runs scored (missing boxscores: 6/30/18 game two vs. Lincoln Giants; 7/4/18, game two vs. Cuban Stars; 7/17 vs. Bacharach Giants).

ONCE UPON A SUMMER, 1918: JOHN DONALDSON

• 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

 

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

Once Upon A Summer 7/14/1918: John Donaldson Defeats Bushwick; Brooklyn Royal Giants Sweep Twin Bill at Dexter Park

From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS & THE DONALDSON NETWORK

Times Union (Brooklyn, New York),

Saturday, July 13, 1918

l; The Brooklyn Citizen (Brooklyn, New York), Saturday, July 13, 1918

r; Times Union (Brooklyn, New York), Sunday, July 14, 1918

Having defeated the New York Lincoln Giants in six of eight contests to date, the Brooklyn Royal Giants return to Dexter Park as the recognized Colored champion.  Cycling back to his Dexter Park debut, John Donaldson tossed a five-hit, six strikeouts, complete-game shutout over the Cuban Stars.

On Sunday, July 14, 1918, in a clash of local semipro titans, the Brooklyn Royal Giants defeat Bushwick in both games of a doubleheader by identical scores of 6 to 1.

"There was no joy for the Bushwicks in their double-header with the Royal Giants yesterday at Dexter Park.  Max Rosner's players just had an off day in the field, and to make matters worse could not make any headway against the pitching of (John) Donaldson and Brooks.  The Royals played at their best yesterday, and when the Royals are playing at their best it takes some wonderful baseball to beat them.  The Bushwicks yesterday were far from being in wonderful form." - The Brooklyn Citizen, Monday, July 15, 1918

Times Union (Brooklyn, New York),

(BOX) Monday, July 15, 1918

GAME ONE - In his return to Dexter Park, southpaw JOHN DONALDSON limits Bushwick to one run on seven hits (one for extra bases) and one walk with five strikeouts for the win.  Batting fifth in the lineup, Donaldson is held hitless and makes two assists in the field.  His mound opponent, Bushwick starter Marty Walsh in a losing effort yields six runs on eleven hits and four walks with five strikeouts.  Giants' center fielder Tom Fiall goes 2 for 3 with a double, second baseman Joe Hewitt is 2 for 4 with two runs scored, and left fielder Tommy Pugh triples and scores two runs.  Brooklyn also steals four bases.

⚾

GAME TWO - The Royal Giants complete the twin bill sweep on the strength of Irvin Brooks' right arm.  Brooklyn's twirler allows one run on just three hits and one walk with four strikeouts in a rain abbreviated six-inning winning effort.  Bushwick's Herman Schwartje surrenders six runs on eight hits and one walk with no strikeouts for the loss.  Irvin Brooks helps his own cause with two hits and a run scored, Eddie Douglass also wields two hits, and John Henry Lloyd doubles in three trips to the plate.  Batting fourth and playing left field, John Donaldson is again held hitless in three at-bats.

The Standard Union (Brooklyn, New York),

Monday, July 15, 1918

LHP - JOHN DONALDSON w/BROOKLYN:

1. 6/30/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 2 runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, 2K; (Lincoln Giants; Olympic Field)
2. 7/4/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 0 RUNS, 5 hits, 1 walk, 6K, (Cuban Stars; Dexter Park)
3. 7/7/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 3 runs, 9 hits, 2 walks, 2K (Lincoln Giants; Olympic Field)
4. 7/14/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 1 run, 7 hits, 1 walk, 5K (Bushwick; Dexter Park) 

• LINE: 36 innings, 6 runs, 28 hits, 6 walks, 15 strikeouts, 1.50 ERA

ONCE UPON A SUMMER, 1918: JOHN DONALDSON

• 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

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

Once Upon a Summer 7/13/1918: Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Glendale at Farmer's Oval, Queens

From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS & THE DONALDSON NETWORK

The Standard Union (Brooklyn, New York),

Sunday, July 14, 1918

"SEVEN BIG LEAGUERS IN FARMERS-MERRITT GAME - The greatest attraction of the year is carded for this Sunday afternoon at Glendale, where the Camp Merritt team will meet the Farmers.  There will be seven big leaguers on the field in this game.  The Royal Giants are carded Saturday." - The Standard Union (Brooklyn, New York), Wednesday, July 10, 1918

Farmer Oval - "Saturday afternoon the Royal Giants are carded.  Special interest attaches to this visit as the colored stars will present their new wonders for the first time at Glendale: Douglass, the heavy hitting first sacker, Marcell at third, and Donaldson, the highest salaried colored twirler in the world.  Capt. Lloyd is again in good shape and will be at short." - The Standard Union (Brooklyn, New York), Thursday, July 11, 1918

The Standard Union (Brooklyn, New York),

Sunday, July 14, 1918

On Saturday, July 13, 1918, the Brooklyn Royal Giants defeated the Glendale Farmers at Farmer Oval, Queens.  

After each team traded runs in the first, Brooklyn's Scottie Hendrix shuts out Glendale over the final eight innings.  He allows just the lone run on nine hits (two for extra bases), two walks with seven strikeouts, and a hit batsman for good measure.  The Royal Giants play error-free ball in support of Hendrix.

The Royal Giants score three times in the sixth en route to a 4-1 victory.  Shortstop John Henry Lloyd and left fielder Johnny Pugh each account for two hits apiece.  Playing left field and batting cleanup before Sunday's return pitching engagement at Dexter Park, John Donaldson wields one hit and scores a run.  Lloyd, Joe Hewitt, and Eddie Douglass also score for Brooklyn.

⚾

NEXT: Sunday, 7/14/1918

BROOKLYN ROYAL GIANTS

vs.

BUSHWICK

FROM

DEXTER PARK

left; The Standard Union (Brooklyn, New York), Thursday, July 11, 1918

right; The Chat (Brooklyn, New York), Saturday, July 13, 1918

The Standard Union (Brooklyn, New York),

Saturday, July 13, 1918

ONCE UPON A SUMMER, 1918: JOHN DONALDSON

• 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

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.

OTD 7/8/1920: Brooklyn Royal Giants Shut Out The Bethlehem Steelworkers At Schwab Field

From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS

The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania), 

Friday, July 9, 1920

On Thursday, July 8, 1920, the Brooklyn Royal Giants  defeated the Bethlehem Steelworkers at Schwab Field, Pennsylvania.

Brooklyn brings Bethlehem's twelve-game consecutive winning streak to a grinding halt.  Royal Giant right-hander Roy Roberts limits the Steelworkers to just six hits, none for extra bases, with four walks and six strikeouts in a complete-game shutout victory.  He also balks and even hits batter for good measure.

First baseman Eddie Douglass takes care of the rest, going 4 for 4 with a double, triple, a stolen base, and two runs batted in.  His triple in the first drives home right fielder George Green and his double in the third plates third baseman Louis Miller for Brooklyn's 2-0 margin of victory.  Green and second baseman Harry Kenyon account for the other two of Brooklyn's six hits.

Bethlehem shortstop Sammy Fishburn accounts for half of the Steelworker's six hits.

In support of Roy Roberts' effort, no fielding errors are committed by the Royal Giants.  Eddie Douglass leads the field with ten putouts at first.  The infield is credited four other putouts and ten assists, including two by Roy Roberts.   Center fielder Tom Fiall records a busy six putouts and George Green one.

The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania),

Friday, July 9, 1920

OTD 7/5/1922: Brooklyn Royal Giants In A Romp Over Fairbanks Nine, Vermont

From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS

The Caledonian-Record (St. Johnsbury, Vermont)

On Wednesday, July 5, 1922, the Brooklyn Royal Giants venture north into Vermont, defeating the local Fairbanks nine.

"The Brooklyn Royal Giants added one more victim to their long list of barnstorming successes when they pummelled and thumped two Fairbanks A.A. pitchers to all corners of the campus and won a slugfest, 16 to 2.  Were there no dark line in the big league, there would certainly be several colored brethren from this Flatbush nine up in the American and National organizations.  The Brooklyn Royal Giants were easily the fastest dusky baseball outfit that ever appeared in Northern Vermont.  They simply outclassed the locals in every department of the game ... outclassed just as any baseball club now in Vermont." - The Caledonian-Record

NOTE: the author's overt racism insofar as 

descriptive variations and frequency in this article are high.

The Caledonian-Record (St. Johnsbury, Vermont)

The Caledonian-Record (St. Johnsbury, Vermont)

BROOKLYN ROYAL GIANTS

With Brooklyn already leading 5-2 after six, all a dismayed Manager Hoernle can do was look on as Eddie Douglass' seventh-inning home run against Reed appears to still be on the climb as it leaves the field of play, then again as the Royal Giants bat-around against reliever Cuddy Murphy for another six runs scored in the eighth.  

All told, the Giants amass 21 hits in 41 at-bats, yet only three go for extra bases.  All nine Giant batters wield at least one hit, seven of whom post multiple hits.  Left fielder Irvin Brooks goes 3 for 6 with two doubles; Sam Mongin, Bob Scott, Eddie Douglass, and Wagner also register three hits.  

Starter String Bean Williams laces two hits during Brooklyn's six-run eighth.  Williams allows just two runs on twelve hits and two walks with seven strikeouts through nine innings for the win on the mound.

Fairbanks' first baseman Frank McLaughlin goes 3 for 4, and second baseman Ted Butler goes 3 for 5; together, they account for half of Fairbanks' twelve hits.  Catcher Tommy Starr and McLaughlin score their only runs.  Reed yields 13 hits and two walks, one wild pitch, and strikes out five before getting yanked in the seventh.

Once Upon A Summer 6/30/1918: John Donaldson Loses Brooklyn Royal Giants Debut To New York Lincoln Giants

From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS & THE DONALDSON NETWORK

The Evening World (New York, New York), 

Saturday, June 29, 1918

New York Herald (New York, New York),

 Sunday, June 30, 1918

On Sunday, June 30, 1918, John Donaldson makes his much anticipated Brooklyn Royal Giants debut.  He is opposed by New York Lincoln Giants' starter Cyclone Joe Williams in the first game of a doubleheader at Olympic Field, Harlem.

GAME ONE - In an effective albeit losing effort, John Donaldson allows just one run on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts through nine innings pitched and wields a hit at the plate.

Lincoln Giants' second baseman Sam Mongin and Joe Williams himself lead New York with two hits apiece, and as fate would have it, Smokey Joe also scores the lone run of the game.  Williams hurls a gem on the mound, surrendering just two hits and one walk with four strikeouts over nine scoreless innings pitched for the win.

Brooklyn's third baseman Oliver Marcell, first baseman Eddie Douglass, and John Henry "Pop" Lloyd account for the Royal Giants' only other hits.  Catcher Louis Santop twice reaches safely and steals two bases.

Brooklyn Royal Giants vs. New York Lincoln Giants

New York Herald (New York, New York), 

Monday, July 1, 1918

GAME TWO - Brooklyn's Irvin Brooks holds the Lincoln Giants to a single run in the fifth.  The Royal Giants score once in the first, twice in the second, and one last time in the third en route to a 4-1 victory.  With today's twin bill split, John Henry Lloyd's team holds a commanding five games to one series advantage against manager Joe Williams' Lincoln Giants.

• ICYMI: Once Upon A Summer 1918: Brooklyn Royal Giants Acquire Midwest Pitching Great, John Donaldson

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.

OTD 6/12/1923: Jesse Hubbard Hurls Shutout As Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Burlington

From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS

On Tuesday, June 12, 1923, Burlington limits the Brooklyn Royal Giants to just two hits but bow to the visitors, 1 to 0, at Centennial Field, Vermont.  The lone run of the game is scored in the fifth.  Royal Giants catcher Charlie Spearman leads off with a double, advances to third on a bunt, then scored on third baseman Johnson Hill's sacrifice fly to right field.  

First baseman and captain Eddie Douglass tripled in the sixth but was left stranded.  

Burlington starter Doc Newton is the hard-luck loser, yielding just one run on two hits, both for extra bases, with three strikeouts.  Brooklyn right-hander Jesse Hubbard allows seven hits, one for extra bases, with seven strikeouts for the win.

Sources:

• The Burlington Free Press (Burlington, Vermont), Wednesday, June 13, 1923
• 1923 Brooklynn Royal Giants, Seamheads.com

OTD 5/25/1924: Brooklyn Royal Giants Sweep Twin Bill From Hewitts at Bison Stadium

From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS

The Buffalo Inquirer (Buffalo, New York), May 26, 1924

Buffalo, N.Y. - On Sunday, May 25, 1924, the Brooklyn Royal Giants win both games of a doubleheader against the Hewitts at Bison Stadium.  

In the first game, Smokey Joe Williams and left-hander Willis Flournoy join together in limiting the Hewitts to a mere two hits and one run scored in the ninth to spoil the shutout.  The Royal Giants total 15 hits and score multiple runs in three different innings en route to a commanding 9-1 victory.

In the second game, Dick "Cannonball" Redding yields two runs on eight hits, including a home run by Hewitts' first baseman, Martineck, and doubles by right fielder Crowe and center fielder Gelb.  Cannonball walks two and strikes out six through eight innings.  The Royal Giants score seven runs on ten hits, four going for extra bases.  Captain Eddie Douglass goes 2 for 5 with two doubles and a run scored.  Center fielder Jules Thomas leads Brooklyn with three hits, a double, three runs scored, and right fielder Irvin Brooks goes 2 for 4 with two runs scored.