Fourth in a series
There have been in the past several articles on John Donaldson (1891-1970) and his legendary exploits. Researchers have it that he amassed over 420 wins and over 5,200 strikeouts in over 700 games played.
Given this, why isn’t the Black pitcher’s plaque installed in Cooperstown, New York, where the Baseball Hall of Fame is housed?
We recently asked Pete Gorton, a longtime advocate for Donaldson’s recognition, this question. Gorton founded the Donaldson Network and talked about the pitcher while sitting on a Black baseball panel at SABR24 in Minneapolis in August.
Donaldson “pitched in 781 cities in North America because of segregation,” reiterated Gorton. “More wins, more strikeouts than any segregated pitcher all time.”
According to Wikipedia, Donaldson pitched in pre-Negro League times and for several Negro Leagues clubs in a career that spanned over 30 years. He pitched for clubs such as All Nations (1912-18; 1920-23) and the Kansas City Monarchs for six years. He’s been called “the greatest pitcher of his era.”
Donaldson also pitched in Minnesota: Bertha (1924-25, 1927), Lissmore, Minnesota Gophers (1925-26), Madison and Mineola (both 1925), Melrose and Arlington (both 1928), and St. Cloud (1930).
Gorton and local historian Steven Hoffbeck once co-wrote for SABR, “We consider John Donaldson the best left-handed barnstorming pitcher in Black baseball history. He accumulated 5,081 [strikeouts] in his lifetime.” He reportedly last pitched for an Iowa team in 1949.
The Negro Leagues Database (seamheads.com) also published Donaldson’s Black baseball stats: 23-29 W-L record, 2.96 ERA, 257 strikeouts and 450 innings pitched. Donaldson also played centerfield and compiled a .281 career batting average (seven HRs, 162 RBI) with 34 stolen bases and 168 runs.
However, according to the database disclaimer, Donaldson’s stats are incomplete. This might explain why he has not yet reached the hallowed Hall of Fame, especially with the first batch of pre-integration Black baseball players who were inducted in 2006. Since this spring, MLB now recognizes Negro Leagues statistics of at least 3,400 players who played in the seven Negro Leagues that operated between 1920 and 1948.
Gorton bemoaned that the legendary Black pitcher again will be overlooked both by MLB and Cooperstown. “It brings up the opportunity to leave others behind,” such players as Donaldson and other Black baseball players whose exploits and stories unfortunately aren’t authenticated yet.
“You’re going to lose dozens of guys who will never qualify for those statistical categories” established by MLB, concluded Gorton.