Recently unearthed newspaper articles about John Donaldson and
the Tennessee Rats Baseball Team


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RATS PLAY THOMSON-KEHM TODAY
  Today at four o-clock the Tennessee Rats will mee the Thompson-Kehm team. This game will be one of the best to be seen on the local diamond this year. The Thompson-Kehm team have not lost a game this year. They will be re-enforced for the game this afternoon by Kelly at pitch. He is one of the best pitchers in town and has won a name for himself away from here as a baseball player.
  The line-up for the Thompson-Kehm team is Bergman, Kelly, Skein, Trost, Johnson, Koll, Anderson, Bostick, Cox, Moore.
John Donaldson The first article about the Lehigh game reads:
RATS GIVE GOOD GAME.

Tennesee Negroes Give Lehigh a Good Time Yesterday.
  Lehigh, June 21.-(Special to the Messenger.)-Lehigh saw a good ball game yesterday when the Tennessee Rats, the colored aggregation that is to spend the remainder of the week in Fort Dodge, played the Lehigh team. The result was a 6 to 2 score in favor of the Tennessee aggregation.
  The game was a good one and the Rats display such ability that Lehigh people are planning to attend some of the Fort Dodge games.
In the same day's paper, they announced the upcoming games in Fort Dodge (K. C. stands for Knights of Columbus):
FIRST RAT GAME THIS AFTERNOON
K. C. TEAM TO PLAY WITH GOOD LINE UP
GOOD GAME IS EXPECTED
  At four o'clock this afternoon the K. C. team will meet the far famed and much talked of Tennessee Rats. The game is to be played at the K. C. Park and as the time is set at 4 p. m., it is expected that a large crowd will be there.
  the lineup for the K. C. as far as can be learned will be about the same as that of last Sunday. Porter will probably pitch the game and if he is in as good form as he was last Sunday the Rats will have to go some. Meloy and Mulroney who played their first game with the K. C. last Sunday will also be on duty this afternoon.
  The rest of the lineup will be practically the same.
John Donaldson
John Donaldson The next day's paper announced the first win, and mentioned the next day's game:
RATS TAKE THE FIRST GAME
DEFEAT K. C'S YESTERDAY BY SCORE OF NINE TO THREE
THE K. C'S PLAY WELL
  Playing against a professional team of ball players, the K. C. team met defeat yesterday by a score of 9 to 3, at the K. C. park.
  Although the K. C. team at no time during the game had any chance of winning, they put up a good game of ball and fought hard to the last inning. The Rats play baseball every day and that they do nothing else, while the members of the K. C. team are all working and get a chance to practice together very seldom.
  The Rats, however, play an excellent game of ball and in yesterday's game proved that they are a good, clean bunch of players.
  The K. C. team put in three substitutes during the game, in the second Dessinger, who was playing second, went to catch, and Bostick of Thompson-Kehm went second. In the seventh, Colwell went in the box in Porter's place, and Cain went in right field in place of Stitz.
  The K. C. team made their first score in the last of the third when with two outs, Meloy got first on an error, stole second and came home on Reardon's single.
  In the fifth inning with two down, Reardon made another hit, Dessinger and Porter both got singles, and Reardon scored.
  The third score for the K. C. team was made in the last of the seventh, when Dessinger got first and second on an error, Bostick singled and Dessinger came home.
  The score:

Knights of Columbus.

                      AB.R.H.PO. E.
Meloy, ss . . . .4   1   0   2   1
Reardon, rf . . .5   1   2   0   1
Dessinger, c . . 5   1   2   7   0
Porter, p . . . . .5   0   1   0   0
Bostick, 2b . . .5   0   1   1   0
Beal, 1b . . . . . 4   0   1  14  1
Dowling, cf . . .4   0   0   1   1
Mulroney, 3b . 4   0   1   2   1
Stitz, lf . . . . . . 3   0   0   0   0

                        39  3   8  27  5
Rats.

                      AB. R. H. PO. E.
Pertell, 2b . . . 4   1   2   1   0
Little, rf . . . . . 3   0   0   2   0
Butler, ss . . . . 4   2   1   1   1
Lee, p . . . . . . 5   0   0   0   0
Wilson, c . . . . 5   2   0   6   0
Donaldson, lf . 4   1   2   2   1
Goodall, 3b . . 2   1   1   1   1
Anderson, cf . 3   0   0   0   0
Bell, 1b . . . . . 3   2   1  14   0

                      33   9   7  27  3
The next day's paper held the outcome of the T.K. (Thompson-Kehm) game:
RATS TAKE THE SECOND GAME
DEFEAT T. K. IN CLOSE GAME SIX TO FOUR
KELLY PITCHES GREAT GAME
  Although Kelly pitched great ball and had the Rats guessing all of the time, nevertheless the colored gentlemen from Tennessee managed to cross the plate at the final roundup twice more than the Thompson-Kehm team.
  The game was an exciting contest and was doubtful as to its outcome up to the third out for Thompson-Kehm in the ninth inning.
  The scoring for the home team began in the last of the third, Bostick walked, went second on a wild pitch by Donaldson, Koll hit to short, who made a wild throw to first. Bostick came home, Johnson hit to short, Koll, who was on second, started for third. Short stop throws to third to catch Koll. Koll was safe. Johnson safe on first, attempted to steal second. Donaldson lost his head and threw the ball out in center field, Koll scored.
  In the last of the fifth with one out, Kelly walked. Koll hit for two bases and Kelly scored. The final score for the clothiers came in the last of the eight. One out, Trost beats out a slow grounder to Skein's clean single over short.
  The score:
Thompson-Kehm.

                      AB R H PO A   E
Koll, 3b . . . . .4   1   1   1   0   0
Johnson, ss . . 4   0   0   1   3   1
Trost, 2b . . . .4   1   0   5   4   2
Anderson, lf . .4   0   0   1   0   0
Skein, 1b . . . .4   0   1  10  0   2
Bergman, c . . 4   0   0   5   3   0
Cox, rf . . . . . 4   0   0   1   0   0
Bostick, cf . . .2   1   0   3   0   0
Kelly, p . . . . .3   1   0   0   2   0

                      33  4   2  27 12  5
Rats.

                      AB R H PO A   E
Pertell, 2b . . . 4   1   1   1   2   0
Little, 1b . . . . 4   1   0  10  0   0
Butler, ss . . . . 4   0   0   1   0   0
Lee, lf . . . . . . .4   0   0   0   0   0
Wilson, c . . . . 3   0   0  13  2   0
Donaldson, p . 3   2   2   0   1   1
Goodall, 3b . . 3   1   1   0   1   0
Clay, rf . . . . . .3   0   0   1   0   0
Anderson, cf . .3   1   1   1   0   1

                      31  6   5  27  6   2
John Donaldson
John Donaldson The next day's paper only showed a line score:

LEHIGH DEFEATED BY NEGRO TEAM
UNABLE TO CONTEND WITH THE DUSKY WARRIORS
SCORE THREE TO NOTHING
  Accompanied by a hundred rooters and in a special car the team from lehigh came here only to go down in deat as many before them had done before the dusky warriers from the sunny south.
  It was an interesting game as there was an immense lot of enthusiasm and the team from Lehigh put up a good fight.
  As far as the game was concerned it was very close. Lehigh was only able to secure two hits off of Morton. While the Rats made eight his off Harkin, Goodall did most of the hitting for the Rats. Getting a single and two bagger and making one of the scores.
  A funny incident of the game was in the last of the seventh. It concerned the first baseman for the Rats and the man who generally gives the fans a minstrel show and ball game combined. He did not seem to like what one of the enthusiastic rooters for the Lehigh aggregation said about him so he came running up to the grand stand and in loud tones proclaimed that he would bet ten dollars to twenty-five cents that the Rats would win. Nobody seemed to want to risk the twenty-five cents.
  The final score of the game was three to nothing.
Score by Innings

Rats . . .0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0-3
Lehigh . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
The last day's paper tells of the final game against the Gas Light's Team

RATS TAKE THE FINAL GAME
  By a score of ten to one the Tennessee Rats won the final game of the Rat series over the Gas Lights Saturday.
  The Light and Power made their lone score in the last of the seventh, Balley got first on an error through third, stole second. Went third on a passed bill and came home on Wilson's grounder.
  The score:
Rats . . . . . .1 1 0 0 1 0 2 5 0-10
Gas Lights . 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0-1
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