John Wesley Donaldson

Newspaper Clippings about Southpaw Pitcher John Donaldson

1938 John Donaldson Games

Stories are placed in order of the date they appeared.

June 3, 1938

Chicago, IL
"Spencer Coals Bunch Hits To Beat Chicago Giants, 5-4. - Bunching three hits for four runs in the second inning the Spencer Coals defeated the Chicago Giants, 5 to 4, last night on Shrewbridge Field."

June 12, 1938

Forest Park, IL
"Oils 4, Chicago Giants 3. - Joe Kolinsky scored on a double steal in the eleventh inning to give the Suburban Oils a 4 to 3 victory over Joe Green's Chicago Giants in Forest Park."

June 13, 1938

Chicago, IL
"Green's Giants Beat House of David Nine, 8-4. Joe Green's Chicago Giants scored three runs in each of the eighth and ninth innings to defeat the House of David baseball club, 8 to 4, in Shrewbridge Field, 74th and Aberdeen streets, last night."

July 10, 1938

Benton Harbor, MI
"Chicago Giants Win. - Benton Harbor, Michigan, July 10. - (Special.) - The Chicago Giants defeated the Crystal Palace Blues, 4 to 0 today. Oliver Turner yielded only two hits in pitching his fifth shutout of the season."

July 29, 1938

Chicago, IL
"Mills Beat Giants, 10 to 0; Atkinson Stars at Bat. - Outfielder Bert Atkinson led the Mills semi-pro baseball team to a 10 to 0 victory over the Chicago Giants in Shewbridge field last night. Atkinson hit a triple, homer, and a single."

1939 John Donaldson Games

Stories are placed in order of the date they appeared.

April 30, 1939

New Orleans, LA
"All Stars 12, Sports 6."

May 14, 1939

New Orleans, LA
"Paige All-Stars Win Over New Orleans Sports 16 to 3. - The Satchell Paige All-Stars took advantage of 10 errors by the New Orleans Sports to run up a 16-3 score in the first game of a scheduled negro baseball doubleheader at Veteran's Park Sunday afternoon before a gathering of 800 fans. The second contest was called in the fourth inning on account of darkness with the All-Stars calling 6-2. In the six innings that Satchell Paige pitched in the opening game the Sports collected seven hits and three runs. However, Paige seemed to be taking things rather easy, only bearing down slightly in the pinches."

May 19, 1939

Paris, TX
"Kansas City 5, Paris 3."

June 12, 1939

Milwaukee, WI
"Paige's All Stars 8, Ehiopians 3. John Donaldson, Left Field."

June 14, 1939

Black River Falls, WI
"Satchel Paige's All Stars 1, Merchants 0. John Donaldson, Left Field."

June 16, 1939

Fargo, ND
"House of David 4, Paige All-Stars 0. John Donaldson, Left Field."

June 21, 1939

Regina, SK
"House of David 1, All-Stars 1. John Donaldson, Left Field."

June 22, 1939

Saskatoon, SK
"Monarchs 2, House of David 0. John Donaldson, Left Field."

June 23, 1939

Regina, SK
"House of David 5, All-Stars 0. John Donaldson, Left Field."

June 25, 1939

Bismarck, ND
"All Stars 3, House of David 0. John Donaldson, Left Field."

June 26, 1939

Billings, Montana
"Davids Defeat Monarchs, 4-2 - Negroes Outhit Whiskered Club, but Fail to Win. - The Israelite House of David baseball nine defeated the Negro Kansas City Monarchs, 4 to 2, in an exciting game before 1,315 fans at Athletic Park Monday evening.
The Negroes outhit the whiskered outfit, but could not bunch their blows and usually went on hitting sprees when two men were already out. Both hurlers pitched good ball, but it was far from a pitchers' duel, each moundsman getting but one strikeout, while the fielders made most of the putouts.
John Tucker, long-haired first baseman for the Davids, was the hiting sensation of the nine-inning contest. He cracked out three safe blows, one a triple, in three official times at bat. Gilbert, David right fielder, got three for four and drove in two runs. Robinson, Monarch center fielder, hit safely three of four times at bat to lead his club.
The touted Satchel Paige, lanky Negro hurler, was unable to appear in the game, due to a lame arm. The Davids' usual pepper game between innings, with Tucker, Tally and Anderson participating, brought its share of laughs.
The game was a fine sendoff for the Midland Empire league's opener under the lights at the park Tuesday night."

June 28, 1939

Helena, MT
"Monarchs 12, House of David 6."

June 29, 1939

Helena, MT
"Monarchs 4, Fast Helena 0. John Donaldson, One hit, one run."

July 1, 1939

Butte, Montana
"Famous Monarchs Play Copper Sox Tonight - Paige, Star Hurler, Will Open on Slab - Same Teams Play Again at Clark Park Tomorrow Afternoon to Help Boost Butte's Jubilee Program - Kansas City Monarchs, greatest of all touring negro baseball teams and featuring the two greatest negro players of the past decade - Pitchers (Satchell) Paige and John Donaldson - open their two-game series with the Butte Copper Sox this evening at Clark Park. The game is scheduled to start at 6:15 o'clock with the second contest billed on the same field tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock.
This pair of games, figuring to be among the best of the entire local baseball season, will serve as a fitting contribution to the great golden jubilee celebration which gets underway here today.
Monarchs Have Color - Monarchs are the most colorful group of players organized today. The team plays before packed at most of the towns in which it appears this summer. Paige alone draws record turnouts everywhere. Put behind him an amazing wealth of talent such as he has assembled and fans won't want to pass up the opportunity to see the visitors in action.
Leroy (Satchell) Paige was born in Mobile, Alabama, and had his first baseball experience with the Chatanooga Black Lookouts in 1925. Oh yes! Satchell is a nickname - applied because when he starts a game it usually is "in the bag." His longest stay with one team was five years with the Pittsburgh Crawfords. His greatest mound achievements have not been confined to negro professional ball. One year he pitched his team single handedly to a Denver tournament victory. Favorite and most thrilling experiences, he admites, have been airtight pitching triumphs over picked teams of major and minor stars, often rival pitchers being Dizzy or Daffy Dean, Mike Ryba, Tommy Bridges, Schoolboy Rowe, Joe Bowman and others.
How They'll Start. - John Donaldson rounds out the pitching staff. Yes, this is the same John Donaldson that made baseball history with the famous All-Nations. John retired about three years ago and has been pitching semi-pro baseball around Chicago, but the lure of the game was too much for John and he joined his old teammates. Donaldson is 39 years old, he was an outstanding star at 15, and always took perfect care of himself and while he has lost that dazzling fast curve ball he still has enough to fool the batters. Twenty years ago John McGraw said Donaldson was worth $100,000 if he was white.
Manager Ed Gerry has his Copper Sox traveling at top speed and in tonight's game will start Pitcher Ferd (Sonny Hicks, big right hander who last Sunday baffled a Missoula club that won the last state league pennant).
Wonder Hurler Here Tonight - "Satchell Paige" - He earned that nickname because when he starts the Kansas City Monarchs figure the game "in the bag." He won 31 and lost four last year, but for his color would be in the big league, bats .400, can do a great job as a first baseman, is recognized as the greatest colored baseball pitcher and will hurl against the Butte Copper Sox here tonight.
Twice Paige has pulled a Rube Waddell, and each time got away with it. The opposing team was riding him hard at Savannah, Georga, one hot afternoon and when the first two up in the eighth got on by a single and an error, Paige calmly called in his outfielders. He then proceeded to whiff the next three men. He turned the trick again at Hutchinson, zipping nine straight strikes over with not an outfielder on the field.

July 29, 1939

Reno, NV
"Reno 1, Monarchs 10."

August 12, 1939

Butte, MT
"Davids 4, Monarchs 3."

August 23, 1939

Bismarck, ND
"House of David 0, All-Stars 3."

August 24, 1939

Bismarck, ND
"All Stars 2, House of David 6."

August 29, 1939

Lincoln, NE
"House of Davids 3, All Stars 2."

September 17, 1939

Chicago, IL
"All Stars 10, Giants 5."

October 1, 1939

Kansas City, MO
"First Game, All Stars 0, Monarchs 11.
Second Game, All Stars 0, Monarchs 1."