12/21/24
March 28, 2011
The Greatest Pitcher You've Never Heard Of: He won more than 350 games and struck-out more than 4,500 batters but you won't find his name in Cooperstown.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia to baseball at 12:02 AM - 6 comments
Interesting story, thanks for posting.
posted by insomnyuk at 03:44 PM on March 28, 2011
Thanks Ying Yang, for posting this story. I not only learned about Donaldson, but also the Tennessee Rats and the All-Nations squads - I never knew of any inter-racial barnstorming teams. It's just a great look back at forgotten moments in baseball history.
posted by MrNix67 at 04:15 PM on March 28, 2011
Best link of 2011. I love baseball so much for its history and, of course, had never heard of Donaldson before. To find that he named the Monarchs, was a major league scout, had Tug McGraw say that about him, and then after all that be essentially forgotten - it's heartbreaking.
And the words credited to him are wonderful. How could such a man be left behind? Seems impossible today.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:00 PM on March 28, 2011
What's really heartbreaking about a story like this is how many thousands of lives that could have been extraordinary were just wasted, not just during Jim Crow, but during the 250 slavery years before.
posted by gradioc at 09:18 PM on March 28, 2011
"I am respectfully your friend," should go on his bust in Cooperstown, if there's any justice in this universe, which there probably isn't.
posted by feloniousmonk at 11:49 PM on March 28, 2011
I'm always amazed at how many of these type of stories are still out there and never tire of hearing about them.