Senate Concurrent Resolution 652

(As Adopted by Senate)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND SALUTING THE SPORTS HISTORICAL LEGACY OF THE LATE RICHARD ATLEY DONALD, THE ONLY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER BORN IN MORTON, MISSISSIPPI, IN THE CENTENNIAL YEAR OF HIS BIRTH.

WHEREAS, Richard Atley Donald was the only Major League baseball player from Morton, Mississippi. He pitched in the New York Yankee farm system from 1934-1938, wore the New York Yankee pinstripes from 1938-1945, and was a Yankee Scout from 1946-1975; and

WHEREAS, Morton, Mississippi, is a town of approximately 3,500 residents. No other Major League pitcher from Mississippi has ever been on teams which won four pennants and three World Series; and

WHEREAS, Atley Donald was born August 19, 1910, in his hometown of Morton, Mississippi, and spent his first 18 months in Hillsboro, Mississippi, before the family moved to Louisiana. He pitched collegiately for Louisiana Tech, in Ruston, and faced college teams in Mississippi: Millsaps, Mississippi College and the University of Mississippi. One of his collegiate mound opponents was Claude Passeau of Millsaps, a future National League pitcher. Atley's lifetime ambition was to be a New York Yankee player. In January 1934, Atley's dad, Hugh Donald, gave his son $25.00 and his brother's raincoat so he could hitchhike to St. Petersburg, Florida, where the Yankees trained; and

WHEREAS, Atley Donald impressed Yankee Manager Joe McCarthy by pitching well against future Cooperstown Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bill Dickey, Tony Lazzerri and Earle Combs in a 1934 practice game. Atley signed a Minor League contract with the Yankees, and spent most of the next five years in their system: Wheeling, West Virginia, Class C; Norfolk, Virginia, Class B; Binghamton, New York, Class A; and Newark, New Jersey, Class AA. Atley's five-year minor totals were 78 wins and 41 losses, for a .655 winning percentage. He was 19-2 for the 1937 Newark Bears, champions of the Little World Series and one of the very best Minor League teams of all time; and

WHEREAS, Atley Donald won 12 straight games for the 1939 New York Yankees, still a league record for Rookie pitchers; was named to the 1939 All-Rookie Team; led the American League with an .813 winning percentage (13-3 record); threw a fastball clocked at 95 miles per hour, the fastest in the Major Leagues in late August 1939; and helped the Yankees win their fourth straight American League pennant; and

WHEREAS, Atley Donald assisted Lou Gehrig in walking out on the playing field on July 4, 1939, so Gehrig could address 61,000 fans at Yankee Stadium with words such as: "Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." Atley was also a close friend of Joe DiMaggio, the "Yankee Clipper," who loaned him an automobile, when Atley had to remain in St. Petersburg, Florida, due to an injury; and

WHEREAS, Atley Donald suffered from bad vision in his left eye from infancy, but finished with a 65-33 career won-loss record for the New York Yankees, for a .663 winning percentage, a very similar career record compared to Dave "Boo" Ferriss, of Shaw, Mississippi, 65-30 career-wise, for the Boston Red Sox. Atley earned World Series rings in 1939, 1941 and 1943, and was instrumental in helping the Yankees win the 1939 and 1941, 1942 and 1943 American League pennants. Atley was offered, and accepted, a scouting position with the Yankees in 1946. He covered most of the South, including Mississippi. Atley scouted Jack Reed of Silver City, Mississippi, in the early 1950s, when Reed played for the University of Mississippi, and signed him in 1953. (Jack Reed was a member of the 1961-1963 Yankee Championship teams); and

WHEREAS, Atley Donald married Betty Bawcom in Natchez, Mississippi, in a private ceremony at the Presbyterian Church on January 8, 1955; and

WHEREAS, Donald scouted Jake Gibbs from the time Gibbs was a high school senior in Grenada, Mississippi, in 1957, throughout Gibbs' collegiate career at the University of Mississippi and eventually signed Gibbs to a Yankee organization contract in 1961. His wife, Betty, accompanied him to Grenada for this signing ceremony. Atley later scouted some of Jake Gibbs' Ole Miss ballplayers from 1972-1974 at games in Oxford; and

WHEREAS, several other prominent big leaguers signed by Atley Donald for the Yankees were Ron Blomberg in 1967 and Ron Guidry in 1971. Blomberg became the first designated hitter in American League history when he faced Luis Tiant of the Boston Red Sox, April 6, 1973. Ron Guidry's 1978 season with the Yankees was remarkable - 25-3 record, a franchise-best 248 strikeouts, plus 13 straight wins, to break Atley's team record of 12 consecutive victories, set back in 1939; and

WHEREAS, Boo Ferriss enjoyed Atley's friendship and urged the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame's Selection Committee to consider Atley's nomination; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we note the important baseball history and record by this legendary Mississippi sports hero:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize and salute Richard Atley Donald, the only Major League baseball player born in Morton, Mississippi, on the centennial of his birth and extend our best wishes on this auspicious occasion.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be forwarded to Betty Donald, Atley's widow; Michael Rubenstein, Executive Director, Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame; Dr. Robert W. Brown; David M. "Boo" Ferriss; and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.