Donaldson, former Minneota hurler, denied Hall entrance

One man was responsible for John Donaldson being included among the 10 Early Days of Baseball finalists for the Baseball Hall of Fame. And during these times of racial matters, this one man is a white freelance writer from the Twin Cities with a passion for making sure a black man who played a century ago gets his due diligence.
The two men have no ties to one another other than a love for baseball.
It was because of Peter Gorton, who built a massive network to help research Donaldson's career barnstorming statistics, that Donaldson recently had a baseball field named in his honor in his hometown of Glasgow, MO, as well as a statue built outside the stadium for the flame-throwing left-hander.
"I'm not angered that John Donaldson didn't get in the Hall of Fame," said Gorton, who admitted he was nervous prior to the naming of the new Hall of Fame members on Sunday afternoon during a televised event. "I'm disheartened that his case wasn't pushed through, though."
A 16-member committee voted with a player needing at least 12 votes to gain entrance. Donaldson received eight votes. Bud Fowler and Buck O'Neill were inducted from the Early Days Era, while former Twins Tony Olivia and Jim Kaat, plus Minnie Minosa and Gil Hodges were inducted from the Golden Days Era. The six newcomers will be enshrined in Cooperstown on July 24, 2022, along with any new members elected by the Baseball Writers' Association.
"I thought John Donaldson would get it," said iconic announcer Bob Costas during the television event.
Donaldson has Minneota ties as he played three games for the semi-pro team here in 1925. Wearing the wool jersey with MINNEOTA spelled out in upper-case blue lettering across his chest, Donaldson hurled two games for Minneota during his barnstorming days so he could play with his brother James, a shortstop/pitcher for the Minneota team in 1925.
James Donaldson died of mononucleosis later in the 1925 season and John came back to Minneota to pitch one more game in his brother's honor. And because of Gorton's no-quit attitude, Donaldson reached the Hall steps, but wasn't able to push through the door just yet.
"That doesn't mean we're giving up," Gorton said. "We'll find 250 more wins and 3,000 more strikeouts that Donaldson because I've been doing this for 21 years and I know they are out there somewhere to be found."
Donaldson's statistics continue to grow as the Donaldson Network continues to discover more games in old newspaper articles. Currently, they have found Donaldson to have over 400 wins and over 5,000 strikeouts in his career.
Because he was such a phenomena' pitcher, John Wesley Donaldson drew huge crowds wherever he pitched.
Donaldson has often been compared to the late great Satchel Paige by historians, but because he never played in the Negro Leagues, Donaldson's legacy was not unfolded ... until Gorton came across his name while helping his college instructor research a black hockey player who played in Minnesota in 1902 named Bobby Marshall.
"I've been researching John Donaldson's legacy for 21 years now," Gorton said. "And I'm not about to stop now because he didn't get in the Hall of Fame."