I can’t honestly say when exactly I took an interest in what is generally called Negro League baseball. I can, however, say that much of my baseball research is due to card 104 of The Negro Leagues subset from the Ted Williams card company.
Even while reading about baseball greats like Satch, Rube or Josh playing on or even creating great Negro League teams like the Kansas City Monarchs, Chicago American Giants or Homestead Grays, early on, I failed to grasp two very important concepts underlying black baseball: 1) black baseball teams, even League teams, weren’t confined to playing games only in League stadiums or only against League competition and 2) black ball players and more often that not, entire teams of black ball players could and would play outside of “organized” Negro League baseball barnstorming across the country or even establishing local connections.
The back of card 104 tells of just a few of the amazing exploits of one such player who just so happened to have accomplished but one of his many amazing exploits in my adopted hometown of Austin, Minnesota. Even so, it took Pete Gorton’s chapter on John Wesley Donaldson in “Swinging for the Fences: Black Baseball in Minnesota” for me to begin to grasp the concept that the history of black baseball can not only take place anywhere but it actually took place here in Austin, Minnesota.
Seeking confirmation of the no-hit game for this great mound artist led me to the microfilm collection at the Austin Public Library. The Mower County Transcript noted that Austin’s pitcher Crouse pitched a wonderful game on August 16th winning 1-0 without even mentioning Donaldson or really much about the All Nations team.
The Herald, however, published a box score indicating the run scored as an unearned run and that Donaldson no-hit Austin behind 15 strikeouts. The no-hitter is notable as one of 13 or 14 known no-hitters thrown by Donaldson.
Pete Gorton has undertaken an incredible effort to bring Donaldson’s amazing career to light by bringing together a network of local researchers all contributing what they can to find one more win, one more strikeout or even just a reference to where Donaldson’s many traveling teams might play next. Please visit the John Donaldson Network to get a sample of Donaldson’s decades of dominance and impact on the game of baseball.
At last count, 403 wins and 5,034 strikeouts have been verified. The 1914 stop in Austin didn’t result in one of those wins but Donaldson was still clearly dominant striking out 15 and tossing one of his many no-hitters.
But for the color of his skin and baseball’s color line, Donaldson would certainly have been playing for a major league team in 1914 if not well before. Instead, he was forced to travel from town to town displaying his wonder arm and motion by pitching three days a week without the benefit of a bullpen, by playing center field on his “off” days and hitting third or fourth in the lineup at nearly all times.
Donaldson has rightfully been called the Greatest Colored Pitcher in the World and is certainly one of the greatest pitchers the game of baseball has ever produced given his dominance and decades of durability. The fact that his amazing baseball ability was on display at all in Austin, Minnesota in 1914 and across the Midwest for decades instead of the Polo Grounds is, in fact, part of black history.
For more information on Donaldson’s greatness, visit the Donaldson network line above. A documentary feature film is also under production called 39 Seconds to restore his legacy as the Greatest Colored Pitcher in the World. Information on the trailer for the film can be found at 39 Seconds Film.
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