My research in townball was triggered, in part, by Peter W. Gorton’s article “John Wesley Donaldson, A Great Mound Artist” in Swinging for the Fences: Black Baseball in Minnesota[1] combined with the text on card #104 of the 1994 of The Ted Williams Card Co. The back of that card reads as follows: “In 1914 Donaldson no-hit Austin, Minnesota then returned in May of 1915 to hurl two no-hit games in the same month.”[2] My quest to identify those members of the Hall of Fame that had played in the Austin was officially “on.” Surprisingly, Donaldson actually lost the no-hit game at Austin, the game’s only run scoring after a walk, stolen base, and throwing error by the All Nations’ third baseman Crow who threw wildly to first. Donaldson struck out fifteen in the game.[3]
Donaldson’s amazing career started in 1908 and he would continue to play baseball until 1941. His career as a pitcher includes 413 verified wins, 5,091 strikeouts, 14 known no-hitters, and 2 perfect games.[4] When not on the mound, he played in centerfield and is also credited with mentoring Satchel Paige. Donaldson was passed over for the Hall of Fame in 2006 as much of his career pre-dates the formation of the Negro Leagues and he was compared with players whose prime years were in the Negro Leagues. Since that time, the Donaldson Network continued to document a seemingly ever-rising total of appearances, wins, and strikeouts. This year, he was on the final ballot for the Early Baseball Committee along with many other worthy candidates.
Last Sunday, John Donaldson somehow did not meet the high hurdle of selection not because he isn’t worthy of selection but because the Hall of Fame established an unduly restrictive system for the election of candidates. The Early Baseball ballot included ten players all of whom were deemed Hall-worthy by a screening committee. There were sixteen members appointed to the Early Baseball Committee that afforded a broad cross-section of interests and experiences, including former players and baseball historians. The process, however, was seriously flawed as each committee member was given only four votes to use and a candidate had to receive affirmative votes from at least twelve of the committee members to gain admittance. As such, the committee could elect, at most, five of the candidates otherwise deemed worthy of consideration by the selection committee and then only if there was clear consensus from the Early Baseball Committee that only those four or five candidates were the ones worthy of admittance. What transpired in the committee voting remains unclear as the Early Baseball committee was only able to elect two new members to the Hall of Fame: John “Buck” O’Neil and “Bud” Fowler.
Donaldson received the fourth highest vote total, receiving affirmative votes from eight of the committee members. The vote totals, however, suggest that there was some horse trading involved as Committees wrangled with ballots filled with worthy candidates and a very limited opportunity to admit enough of them. The end result likely being that worthy candidates were not considered on their own merit and, instead, considered against the rest of the pool of candidates. As such, the process seems flawed especially when the Golden Days Era Committee was pointed to as a “court of appeals” for those passed over the Baseball Writers Association of America. In the cases of players like Donaldson, Vic Harris, and Cannonball Redding, none of them ever received their first day in court as the BBWAA could not consider them as they were not allowed to play in the American or National League because of their skin color.
I suppose we should be grateful that Buck O’Neil finally received his due. After all, it is shocking that it took until 2021 for him to be elected to the Hall of Fame. I consider the failure to admit him in 2006 when Negro League players, managers and owners were last considered for admission as one of baseball’s many travesties particularly as Buck passed away so shortly after the subsequent inductions. He may not have been the best player or manager to ever be involved in the game, but he was a tireless promoter of baseball including black baseball. Without Buck, Ken Burn’s Baseball would be far less interesting, and we would know far less about the Negro Leagues. One of my fondest memories as a baseball fan is seeing Buck work the crowd at Miller Park following his induction into Milwaukee’s Wall of Fame many years ago. Other honorees might disappear to their box seats but not Buck.
Playing for and managing the Kansas City Monarchs, Buck crossed Iowa many times. He also crossed Iowa and into Minnesota before he signed with the Monarchs. In 1936, he played with a team nominally called the Shreveport Acme Giants. I say nominally as they played part of their season as the Dunseith Giants in North Dakota and many of the players including Buck eventually joined with the Texas Black Spiders for a later season tour of Texas and Mexico. Before heading south to Texas and beyond, Buck’s Acme Giants and the Black Spiders played across Iowa facing local competition and each other numerous times.[5]
Hoping to make the Monarchs team in 1937, he settled for the Memphis Red Sox and ultimately settled in with the Zulu Cannibal Giants. The Giants played to racial stereotypes “appearing in full festive regalia consisting of grass skirts, ornamental headgear, painted faces, and in some instances, even bare feet.”[6] The players adopted African sounding names such as King Chebami, Wahoo, Nyassass. O’Neil’s assumed name when played with the Cannibal Giants was Limpopo. Despite the carnival-like costumes, the Giants players and teams were solid, advertising 104 games won out of 129 games played during the 1936 season.[7]
O’Neil traveled to Austin with the Cannibal Giants in 1937, but the weatherman did not help the situation at Marcusen’s Park. Excessive rain provided a muddy field for the teams. Hitting lead off for the Giants was “Limpopo,” playing first base. Buck, playing as Limpopo, fielded his position flawlessly despite a muddy field.
Buck would join the Kansas City Monarchs in 1938 and be forever tied to Kansas City and the Monarchs. It is certainly possible that Buck and the Monarchs may have come to Austin as well as they continued to play until 1965 and I’ve only worked Austin’s microfilm through 1957. It is also entirely possible, and, quite frankly, likely that between the Shreveport Acme Giants in 1936, Zulu Cannibal Giants in 1937, or Monarchs thereafter, that Buck played elsewhere in Southern Minnesota during what is now a Hall of Fame career.
With his election, Buck O’Neil can be added to the list of Hall of Fame players that played in Austin at some time during their career, joining Burleigh Grimes, Jose Mendez, and Satchel Paige as players and potentially J.L. Wilkinson as a team owner / manager. As to when John Donaldson might join Buck and his teammate Mendez on that illustrious list, under current Hall rules the Early Baseball Committee does not meet again until 2030. Let’s hope that the Baseball Hall of Fame realizes that four ballots per member is far too few when considering the quality of the candidates already deemed Hall-worthy and accelerates further consideration of those players not eligible for consideration by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
[1] Peter W. Gorton, “John Wesley Donaldson, a Great Mound Artist,” in Swinging for the Fences: Black Baseball in Minnesota, edited by Steven R. Hoffbeck, St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2005,
[2] “John Donaldson,” Card 104, The Ted Williams Card Co., 1994.
[3] “Two Great Games,” Austin Daily Herald, September 17, 1914, 4.
[4] “John Donaldson,” http://johndonaldson.bravehost.com/index.html, assessed December 11, 2021.
[5] Paul R. Spyhalski, “How Buck Became a Texas Black Spider: John “Buck” O’Neil’s 1936 Baseball Season,” Black Ball: A Negro League Journal 8 (Dec. 2015): 82-95.
[6] “Cannibal Team to be Here for Baseball Stew,” Austin Daily Herald, June 23, 1937.
[7] “Zulu Cannibals Will Meet Austin Packers Here Friday,” Austin Daily Herald, June 24, 1937, 10.
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