IMPORTANT
IMPORTANT MINERALS LIKE MAGNESIUM, ZINC, AND IRON, ALL
THINGS THAT KEEP YOUR BRAIN
HEALTHY AND HELP FIGHT OFF
DISEASE.
DISEASE.
DISEASE. >>> DURING THIS WEEK OF WORLD
SERIES FANFARE, WE TURN OUR
ATTENTION TO ONE OF BASEBALL'S
FORGOTTEN STORIES.
FORGOTTEN STORIES. IN MINNEAPOLIS MAN STUMBLED ON
A SLIVER OF IT 20 YEARS AGO AND
HE HAS BEEN PIECING IT TOGETHER
EVER SINCE.
EVER SINCE. BOYD HUPPERT CATCHES UP WITH
HIM.
HIM.
HIM. >>
HIM. >> Reporter: IF WORDS WERE CATH
DEST -- IF WORDS WERE CAST IN
BRONZE AND BRASS, YOU WOULD
ALREADY KNOW THIS STORY.
BUT THESE WORDS HAVE FADED,
LIKE THE GREATNESS OF THE MAN
THEY ONCE DESCRIBED.
INTO THE OBSCURITY OF THE
NORTHEAST MINNEAPOLIS BASEMENT.
>> THIS IS WHERE JOHN DAWSON'S
LEGACY RESIDES TODAY.
I STUDY THIS ALL THE TIME AND I
THINK ABOUT THIS ALL THE TIME
>> Reporter: THE GREATEST
BASEBALL PLAYER THAT YOU HAVE
NEVER HEARD OF.
20 YEARS BEFORE JACKIE ROBINSON
BROKE THE MAJOR-LEAGUE COLOR
BARRIER, JOHN DONALDSON WAS
BREAKING IT IN BERTHA PERK --
BERTHA.
BERTHA.
BERTHA. AFTER TWO SOLID YEARS IN THE [
NULL ] LEAGUES, THE LEFT HAND
WAS TAKEN TO SMALL HAT -- --
SMALL-TOWN MINNESOTA.
SMALL-TOWN MINNESOTA. >> HE MAKES ALL THE PAYOUTS TO
THE TEAMS THAT WE -- THAT THEY
PLAYED AGAINST.
PLAYED AGAINST. AND IN THE POCKETS OF EVERYONE
THERE.
THERE.
THERE. IF
THERE. IF YOU HAD THIS FATE IF YOU
HAVE THE FAMOUS JOHN DONALDSON
ON YOUR TEAM, HE WAS GUARANTEED
TO BE TALKED ABOUT STATEWIDE.
>> Reporter: BERTHA AND LISBON,
MELROSE, ST. CLOUD, AND
FAIRMONT.
FAIRMONT.
FAIRMONT. EACH SIGNED ON DONALDSON FOR A
SEASON OR MORE.
EXHIBITIONS TOOK DONALDSON TO
550 NORTH AMERICAN CITIES.
>> IF HE HAD BEEN WHITE, HE
WOULD'VE HAD A PROFOUND MAJOR-
LEAGUE CAREER AND HE WOULD BE A
HOUSEHOLD NAME RIGHT NOW.
>> Reporter: BUT NO ONE ERECTS
HIS STATUES IF YOU HAVE SPENT
YOUR CAREER TOWN HOPPING.
AT BEST, AFTER DEATH, YOU ARE
REDISCOVERED.
REDISCOVERED. >> THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE
FILED BOXES.
FILED BOXES. I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS
EVERY DAY FOR OVER 18 YEARS.
>> Reporter: 18 YEARS.
>> URIS FREMONT, NEBRASKA.
>> Reporter: SCOURING SMALL
TOWN PAPERS AND MUSEUMS. @>> JA
-- NORTH DAKOTA.
HERE IS A PERFECT GAME THAT HE
THROWS OUT HERE IN PLENTY WOOD,
MONTANA.
MONTANA.
MONTANA. UP TO NOW, WE HAVE FOUND 14 NO-
HITTERS, 5039 VERIFIED
STRIKEOUTS, AND EVERY SINGLE
ONE OF THOSE ARE IN THESE
BOXES.
BOXES.
BOXES. >>
BOXES. >> Reporter: FROM FERGUS FALLS,
39 SECONDS OF PREVIOUSLY
UNKNOWN FILM OF DONALDSON
PITCHING.
PITCHING.
PITCHING. AND FROM ACROSS MINNESOTA,
PICTURES DOUG FROM FAMILY
ALBUMS.
ALBUMS.
ALBUMS. >> I AM CONVINCED THAT THEY ARE
ALL OVER THE PLACE, BUT PEOPLE
DON'T KNOW WHO THAT BLACKEYE IS
IN THE PICTURE WITH GREAT GREAT
GRANDPA.
GRANDPA.
GRANDPA. >> Reporter: BUT THE GUY WITH
JOHN DONALDSON ON HIS UNIFORM
WON'T BE DONE UNTIL EVERYONE
KNOWS.
KNOWS.
KNOWS. >>'S LEGACY IS TOTALLY BURIED
HERE.
HERE.
HERE. HE
HERE. HE WAS A LEFT-HANDED PITCHER.
HE WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST
PLAYERS OF ALL TIME.
HE WAS OBVIOUSLY A MAJOR
LEAGUER THAT WASN'T IN THE
MAJOR LEAGUES, AND ONLY BECAUSE
OF HIS SKIN COLOR.
THAT IS PART OF HIS LEGACY THAT
WE NEED TO RESTORE.
>>> A CENTURY AFTER JOHN
DONALDSON'S STORY WAS FOR --
FIRST WRITTEN, PETE IS RIGHTING
A WRONG.
A WRONG.
A WRONG. KARE 11 NEWS, MINNEAPOLIS.
>> PETE GORDON EVENTUALLY PLANS
TO HAND OVER HIS RESEARCH TO
THE NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF
FAME.
FAME.
FAME. HE
FAME. HE HAS IDENTIFIED ONE OF THE --
131 TOWNS WERE DONALDSON
PLAYED.
PLAYED.
PLAYED. MAY BE ONE OF YOURS IS ONE OF
THEM, GO TO FIND OUR
INTERACTIVE MAP ON
WWW.KARE11.COM.
WWW.KARE11.COM. PETE WILL BE JOINING OUR
FACEBOOK PAGE TOMORROW
AFTERNOON AT 2 PM AS WELL TO
ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
I LOVE THE PASSION THAT HE HAS