MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2010

By: Senator(s) Burton To: Rules

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 652

1 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND SALUTING THE SPORTS 2 HISTORICAL LEGACY OF THE LATE RICHARD , THE ONLY MAJOR 3 LEAGUE PLAYER BORN IN MORTON, MISSISSIPPI, IN THE 4 CENTENNIAL YEAR OF HIS BIRTH. 5 WHEREAS, Richard Atley Donald was the only Major League 6 baseball player from Morton, Mississippi. He pitched in the New 7 York Yankee farm system from 1934-1938, wore the New York Yankee 8 pinstripes from 1938-1945, and was a Yankee Scout from 1946-1975; 9 and

10 WHEREAS, Morton, Mississippi, is a town of approximately 11 3,500 residents. No other Major League from Mississippi 12 has ever been on teams which won four pennants and three World 13 Series; and 14 WHEREAS, Atley Donald was born August 19, 1910, in his 15 hometown of Morton, Mississippi, and spent his first 18 months in 16 Hillsboro, Mississippi, before the family moved to Louisiana. He 17 pitched collegiately for Louisiana Tech, in Ruston, and faced

18 college teams in Mississippi: Millsaps, Mississippi College and 19 the University of Mississippi. One of his collegiate mound 20 opponents was Claude Passeau of Millsaps, a future

21 pitcher. Atley's lifetime ambition was to be a New York Yankee 22 player. In January 1934, Atley's dad, Hugh Donald, gave his son 23 $25.00 and his brother's raincoat so he could hitchhike to St. 24 Petersburg, Florida, where the Yankees trained; and 25 WHEREAS, Atley Donald impressed Yankee Joe McCarthy

26 by pitching well against future Cooperstown Hall of Famers Babe 27 Ruth, , , Tony Lazzerri and in a 28 1934 practice game. Atley signed a Minor League contract with the S. C. R. No. 652 *SS02/R1438* N1/2 10/SS02/R1438 PAGE 1 29 Yankees, and spent most of the next five years in their system: 30 Wheeling, West Virginia, Class C; Norfolk, Virginia, Class B; 31 Binghamton, New York, Class A; and Newark, New Jersey, Class AA. 32 Atley's five-year minor totals were 78 wins and 41 losses, for a 33 .655 winning percentage. He was 19-2 for the 1937 Newark Bears, 34 champions of the Little and one of the very best

35 Minor League teams of all time; and 36 WHEREAS, Atley Donald won 12 straight games for the 1939 New 37 York Yankees, still a league record for Rookie ; was named 38 to the 1939 All-Rookie Team; led the with an .813 39 winning percentage (13-3 record); threw a fastball clocked at 95 40 miles per hour, the fastest in the Major Leagues in late August 41 1939; and helped the Yankees win their fourth straight American 42 League pennant; and

43 WHEREAS, Atley Donald assisted Lou Gehrig in walking out on 44 the playing field on July 4, 1939, so Gehrig could address 61,000 45 fans at with words such as: "Yet today I consider 46 myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." Atley was also 47 a close friend of Joe DiMaggio, the "Yankee Clipper," who loaned 48 him an automobile, when Atley had to remain in St. Petersburg, 49 Florida, due to an injury; and 50 WHEREAS, Atley Donald suffered from bad vision in his left

51 eye from infancy, but finished with a 65-33 career won-loss record 52 for the , for a .663 winning percentage, a very 53 similar career record compared to Dave "Boo" Ferriss, of Shaw, 54 Mississippi, 65-30 career-wise, for the . Atley 55 earned World Series rings in 1939, 1941 and 1943, and was 56 instrumental in helping the Yankees win the 1939 and 1941, 1942 57 and 1943 American League pennants. Atley was offered, and 58 accepted, a scouting position with the Yankees in 1946. He 59 covered most of the South, including Mississippi. Atley scouted

60 Jack Reed of Silver City, Mississippi, in the early 1950s, when 61 Reed played for the University of Mississippi, and signed him in S. C. R. No. 652 *SS02/R1438* 10/SS02/R1438 PAGE 2 62 1953. (Jack Reed was a member of the 1961-1963 Yankee 63 Championship teams); and 64 WHEREAS, Atley Donald married Betty Bawcom in Natchez, 65 Mississippi, in a private ceremony at the Presbyterian Church on 66 January 8, 1955; and 67 WHEREAS, Donald scouted Jake Gibbs from the time Gibbs was a

68 high school senior in Grenada, Mississippi, in 1957, throughout 69 Gibbs' collegiate career at the University of Mississippi and 70 eventually signed Gibbs to a Yankee organization contract in 1961. 71 His wife, Betty, accompanied him to Grenada for this signing 72 ceremony. Atley later scouted some of Jake Gibbs' Ole Miss 73 ballplayers from 1972-1974 at games in Oxford; and 74 WHEREAS, several other prominent big leaguers signed by Atley 75 Donald for the Yankees were Ron Blomberg in 1967 and in

76 1971. Blomberg became the first in American 77 League history when he faced of the Boston Red Sox, 78 April 6, 1973. Ron Guidry's 1978 season with the Yankees was 79 remarkable - 25-3 record, a franchise-best 248 , plus 13 80 straight wins, to break Atley's team record of 12 consecutive 81 victories, set back in 1939; and 82 WHEREAS, Boo Ferriss enjoyed Atley's friendship and urged the 83 Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame's Selection Committee to consider

84 Atley's nomination; and 85 WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we note the important 86 baseball history and record by this legendary Mississippi sports 87 hero: 88 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF 89 MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That 90 we do hereby recognize and salute Richard Atley Donald, the only 91 player born in Morton, Mississippi, on the 92 centennial of his birth and extend our best wishes on this

93 auspicious occasion.

S. C. R. No. 652 *SS02/R1438* 10/SS02/R1438 PAGE 3 94 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be forwarded to 95 Betty Donald, Atley's widow; Michael Rubenstein, Executive 96 Director, Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame; Dr. Robert W. Brown; 97 David M. "Boo" Ferriss; and made available to the Capitol Press 98 Corps.

S. C. R. No. 652 *SS02/R1438* 10/SS02/R1438 ST: Recognize legacy of Richard Atley Donald, PAGE 4 only Major League baseball player from Morton, MS.