My name is Pete Gorton and I am leading an effort to shed a past due light on a great American baseball player. John Donaldson was known in the early Twentieth Century as the “Greatest Colored Pitcher In The World.” We have been tracking his playing career for several years and more information is available at:

www.johndonaldson.bravehost.com

We are looking for a couple of specific instances when Donaldson played in Union county. We have references that mention Donaldson playing in Union and Creston, Iowa.
On August 15, 1911, Donaldson was a member of the Brown’s Tennessee Rats ball club which played against the local Union team. We need someone to check the local newspapers or alternate local sources for accounts of this game, if sources exists.
Donaldson traveled throughout the Upper Midwest during his near 40 year playing career. Some say he would have been the best pitcher in the Major Leagues in his prime of 1910 to 1917.
Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.
If you are interested in the Donaldson effort, we can send you some background on Donaldson’s many exploits in other parts of Iowa and the Midwest.