Peter Gorton, a middle-aged white historian with a rapid cadence and strong inflections at the end of his sentences, has dedicated 25 years of his life to researching the remarkable career of John Donaldson. His basement is filled with 60,000 pieces of paper, 9,000 newspaper clippings, and legions of box scores, all in pursuit of uncovering the truth about this Black baseball pioneer.

The Forgotten Hero of Baseball History

Section 1: The Early Years and Baseball Legacy

John Donaldson was one of the best pitchers in baseball history, a Black player ahead of his time. He played professionally for over a decade before the Negro National League was established and was a barnstormer who played in more than 781 cities. He played on integrated teams well before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier and was a forerunner to better-known icons like Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. Even Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, was mesmerized by his story.Donaldson went on to become the first Black scout in MLB and died in 1970. For 34 years, he rested in an unmarked grave until Peter Gorton began his research. Gorton's initial research led him to a small history center in Bertha, Minnesota, where he discovered a picture of Donaldson on an integrated baseball team. This was the beginning of his journey to uncover Donaldson's story.

Section 2: The Research Journey and the Donaldson Network

Accounting for the full story of Donaldson's career was a challenging task as there was no online repository of information and statistics were hard to compile. Gorton began scouring newspaper clippings, visiting libraries and history centers in his vicinity. He started a website to compile and share the records of Donaldson's achievements, and other historians across the country became interested and joined the effort.Through their research, they discovered rare video footage that shows 39 seconds of Donaldson pitching. Little by little, the full nature of a remarkable career came into focus. The Donaldson Network became a community of historians working together to restore Donaldson's legacy.

Section 3: The Mysterious Departure from the Kansas City Monarchs

One of the great mysteries in Donaldson's career is why he left the Kansas City Monarchs after only two games in 1924. Some reports state he left for more money barnstorming in Minnesota, while Gorton believes he may have taken his brother out of the state to avoid a lynch mob. An unearthed box score shows that on August 6, 1924, Donaldson played first base and pitched in a game in Minneota, Minnesota, while his brother played shortstop for the same team before dying of an illness.Through his research, Gorton has confronted hard truths and grim realities about history. Segregation took Donaldson away from us, and they wanted him to be forgotten. But Gorton is determined to tell his story and change history.

Section 4: The Impact and Recognition

In 2020, Glasgow Public Schools dedicated a new baseball field and named it after John Donaldson, and the town unveiled a statue of the great pitcher. Historians, friends, and family all attended the ceremony, and it was an emotional day for Donaldson's family.In 2021, Donaldson received 50 percent of the vote from the Early Baseball Era Committee for induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame but fell four votes short. This year, he is again on the Classic Baseball Era Committee's ballot, and his family is hoping for the best.For Peter Gorton, the journey has been a long and hard one. He has sacrificed a lot to restore Donaldson's legacy, but he is determined to continue. As he said, "What John Donaldson did is he was sleeping on the ground and he was going from town to town and showing people that a Black person could control baseball games. He did that, and he changed history."