Hank McDonald

Hank McDonald was a pitcher for the Athletics and Browns in 1931 and 1933.

Henry Monroe McDonald was born January 16, 1911, in Santa Monica, California, the second child of Arnold McDonald and Nora Behen McDonald. In the 1920 census the family lived at 1538 18^th St. in Santa Monica, in a house they owned outright. Arnold, 37, was a machinist in a brickyard who was born in California, as were both his parents; Nora was 34 and was born in Louisiana, as was her mother, while her father was born in Ireland. Daughter Mabel was 11 and Henry was nine.

Hank grew to be quite large, and he was a star pitcher at Santa Monica High, class of ’29. He got a mention in the Van Nuys News on May 17, 1929, which reported that St. Louis Browns scout W.E. Butler “stated that the Browns are also after ‘Hank’ McDonald, star twirler at Santa Monica high school.” But instead Hank signed with the Portland Ducks (or Beavers, or Beaver-Ducks) of the Pacific Coast League. He made his debut with them on July 17, then pitched again two days later. On the 21^st the Portland Oregonian had this to say about him:

The huge young “Hank” McDonald, who has worked in parts of two games now, will make a sweet pitcher one of these not so far-off days. Funny how the grandstand has adopted this enormous 19-year-old. They call him “Hank,” shout encouragement at him, and seem to resent it if he is taken out. “Hank,” by the way, takes his pitching as seriously as if he were working for his old high school mates, for whom his strong arm won a championship this spring.

Another thing about big “Hank” is his confidence in himself. He seems astonished if Bill Rumler or Hank Severeid or any of the regular Hollywood sluggers makes a hit off him. Hank doesn’t see how they do it. You should have seen the big boy’s keen satisfaction Friday when he slipped over a third one on Hank Severeid and Mr. Severeid walked to the bench for a drink of water. Young Hank gazed after old Hank’s retiring form with a look which seemed to say, “Well, old-timer, you took your cut at that one, and what did you do with it?” Old Hank wasn’t nearly so pleased, but philosophically accepted the outcome of the duel with the youthful Hank.

On August 4 the Oregonian printed a close-up photo of Hank, with this caption:

TOO BIG TO GO TO WORK, SO HE PITCHES

HANK MCDONALD, DUCKS’ HUGE 18-YEAR-OLD FIND

This immense young man stands 6 feet 3 inches in his heelless baseball socks and weighs 188, and is only 18 years old and just starting to grow, so all the other baseball behemoths should watch out. Henry McDonald, commonly called “Hank,” is from one of the southern California high schools near Los Angeles, and quite a prospect he looks to be. He owns a fast ball that makes older Portland pitchers envious and he throws it seemingly without effort. Hank has pitched a no-run, no-hit game or two in amateur company. So far his professional endeavors are confined to batting practice pitching [not entirely true], but wait until he gains age, experience and just a little more heft.

On August 15 Hank got a brief mention in the Sporting News: “In George Snider and Hank McDonald, Portland has a pair of young pitching prospects.” And on September 1 the Oregonian said:

One of three mighty promising kids is Hank McDonald, the 19-year-old 6-foot 3-inch behemoth from Santa Monica. Hank has been bearing down on the hitters in batting practice and they haven’t done much to him.

Hank only got into five games for Portland, pitching 11 innings.

From a Ducks forecast in the Oregonian of January 28, 1930:

Hank McDonald—Set yourselves for a wow of a statement. Last season’s 17-year-old, 6-foot-3 ½, 198-pound phenom from Santa Monica high will report at San Jose an 18-year-old, 6-foot-5-inch, 210-pound phenom! Anyway, [Portland president Tom] Turner says so. He gets it direct from the young whale himself.

Yes, McDonald says he has grown an inch and a half and gained 12 pounds since baseball ended. Take well salted, if desired, but no doubt young Hank has grown. Anyway, he’s the first Duck to send in his signed contract. He actually returned it, fully signed and witnessed, by air mail, special delivery, and paid the postage himself! This is contrary to the peace and dignity and the constitution and all the by-laws of the amalgamated association of baseball unions, but Hank is very young yet.

Hank didn’t pitch much early in the season, and got his first start on July 13. From the next day’s San Francisco Chronicle:

HANK MCDONALD, OREGON GIANT, STOPS SEALS

Hank McDonald, an Oregon giant, who had been sticking around for several weeks without having much chance to work, pitched the game for Portland and he did well. Only two of the four runs made off him were earned…

McDonald had nice speed and pretty fair control and the Seals could not do much with him…

The Oregonian, August 31:

SACS DOWNED, 7-4, BY HANK M’DONALD

Youthful Duck Hurler Wild but Very Effective.

BATTERS KEPT ON JUMP

He Walks Five and Hits Four, but Very Wildness Helps, With Sacs Kept on Edge.

Young Hank McDonald, from Santa Monica, Cal., had the Sacramento batters leaping front, back and sideways last night to keep from getting beaned by his murderous fast ball, and he managed to pink four of them, at that. Portland won, 7 to 4, and Hank’s very wildness helped him. The Sacs were so intent on keeping Hank from hitting them that they couldn’t hit Hank. The 6-foot-3 inch ex-high school youngster limited them to six blows…

Hank pitched more after this, but not real well; he had a 2-0 record after the Sacramento game and ended up at 4-4, with a 5.20 ERA in 90 innings in 23 games, walking 52. But Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics saw something he liked, and purchased Hank in November.

Hank got his photo in the Sporting News on February 19, 1931, along with two other new Athletics pitchers, and a good write-up, just the beginning of the press he would get that preseason:

Hank McDonald Is Quite a Hunk of a Pitcher

The most prominent of the recruits, for no other reason than his size, is the McDonald called Hank. Hank is quite a hunk. He promises to make us gasp. Picture a kid of 19, measuring six feet four inches and weighing 195 pounds.

And that, dear reader, was only his girth at the end of the 1930 season. Coast leaguers assure us the young monster is still growing, that when he reports to the champions he’ll probably measure six feet five inches and tip the beam at 210 pounds.

The youngster’s potentialities, rather than his accomplishments on the mound, are responsible for his shot with the world’s champions. His record for the Portland Beavers last season tallied only four victories and four defeats.

As a pitcher, McDonald is just a kid, with a boy’s naivete for rocking back on his heels and letting the horsehide fly with everything he has. Innocent of guile, Hank pitches with honest forthrightness. He conceals nothing up his sleeve but muscle.

But the raw material is there. Blessed with his size and a fast ball, said to welcome comparison with Grove’s and Earnshaw’s, it is a certainty that McDonald will be given a thorough trial. Nor is it beyond the realm of probability that he will be retained this year.

Hank’s fast ball is as likely as not to be used for mopping up details next season, for finishing out games. Mr. Firpo Marberry earned his living for a couple of seasons with nothing more than McDonald brings with him to the big house.

Portland discovered McDonald among the high school adolescents of Santa Monica, Cal., in the spring of 1929. He was only 17 then. But what a boy—six feet 2 ½ inches and 175 on the hoof…

(As is probably apparent by now, Hank’s height and weight, and age, jumped around quite a bit in different reports.) An AP filler item appeared in various papers on February 26:

Giant Rookie Lams Fast Ones at Mick

FORT MYERS, Fla., Feb. 26—(AP)—Hank McDonald, giant California right-hander who is trying out with the Philadelphia Athletics, has the entire camp wondering how much speed he possesses. Captain [Eddie] Collins spied him yesterday burning them into Mickey Cochrane.

“Hey,” shouted Collins, “don’t cut loose yet.”

“I’m not, boss,” replied the six-foot-four rookie. “This ain’t nothing. I can speed ‘em in a lot faster.”

McDonald worked out on the coast and is already in shape and anxious to get going.

Sporting News, March 5:

McDonald at once impressed everybody with his size. He is six feet four inches tall and weighs 200 pounds, yet has not an ounce of superfluous flesh because of his great height. He has a fast ball which rivals that of Bob Grove.

Various newspapers, March 6:

One of the first rookies to attract the trained Mackian eye this training season is Hank McDonald, a six-foot-four-inch pitching machine. In his first time out on the mound Hank bore down on the ball in a manner that caused Connie’s eye to twinkle. Hank’s been training for weeks at home.

An AP feature about Hank appeared in papers on March 17:

KID HURLER WITH CHAMPS LEAVES FRIGHT TO OTHERS

Hank McDonald Is Only Two Years Out of High School But Gives Promise of Stardom

PITCHES RIGHTHANDED

BY ALAN GOULD

Associated Press Sports Editor

FORT MYERS, Fla.—Mar. 16.

Most rookies tremble to tread where world’s champions walk, but big Hank McDonald, 19 years old, 200 pounds and 6 feet 3 ½ inches, has stepped into the camp of the Athletics with a bundle of confidence and a lot of right handed pitching stuff.

Barely two years out of his high school athletic days at Santa Monica, Cal., McDonald has come up for a trial under the watchful eyes of Connie Mack after a year and a half of testing with the Portland club of the Pacific Coast League.

“I’m getting a lot of fun out of this,” McDonald said, in admitting this is his first trip east and his first sight of the ballplayers he has read about and dreamed about emulating. “But I guess it’s just a lot of hard work, anywhere, and that’s what I like.”

McDonald, in his first exhibition game test, at Miami, faced no less than the champion Cardinals of the National League. He was a trifle wild but steadied down in every pinch. He held the Cards to one safe hit in four innings, struck out five and looked the part of a great young pitcher in every move.

After the game, Manager Gabby Street of the Cardinals paid this compliment to the youngster: “He’s a big powerful boy and likely to make good. For a green kid, he showed a fine curve and kept it around the knees where it could do the most damage.”

McDonald was a tackle in high school football and looks the part but he prefers baseball. He pitched his school team to several district championships and compiled some unusual strikeout records.

Sporting News, March 26:

The Athletics have two schoolboys pitching for them, either of whom is so good that every visiting manager has looked at them and sighed.

“If that kid is a schoolboy,” said Uncle Robbie [Dodgers manager Wilbert Robinson], looking Hank McDonald over, “I wonder what he will be when he has grown up.”

Sporting News, April 9:

A freckle-faced, fun-loving boy, 19 years old, standing six feet four inches, weighing 195 pounds and still growing, is one of the best looking of the many recruits the Philadelphia Athletics took to training camp this spring. Henry McDonald is his name and he comes up with only two years of professional experience, spent with Portland in the Pacific Coast League, but it seems certain he will stick with the A’s this season.

Hank has great possibilities, in the opinion of such a judge of players as Coach Bill Gleason. A beautiful delivery, as free and graceful as that of Grover Alexander, speed that at times makes the ball take off in a sail as it reaches the plate and other times hopping as if it had bounded off an obstruction, and a physique that knows no limit to its strength make him a glowing prospect. McDonald was a wildman on the Coast, but seems to be acquiring control with the Athletics and has looked impressive in the exhibition games he has pitched. While it seems to be asking a great deal of a youth with such brief experience to step right into big league competition, it begins to appear as if he will make the grade and his showing in the third game against the Phillies indicates he may win a regular berth.

From an article in the Worcester Evening Gazette under Connie Mack’s byline, April 11:

It looks as if we have added a starting pitcher to our staff in the giant Hank McDonald, who was last year with the Portland, Oregon team. Hank has a fast ball and a snappy curve and knows what he is doing when he is on the peak. He is Young America personified, always chock full of confidence.

After all that buildup, Hank did make the team, and on April 16 he started the third game of the season, following Grove and Earnshaw, in Washington. The first major league hitter he faced was Buddy Myer, who he struck out, but he gave up two runs in the fourth and one in the seventh before being relieved by Earnshaw with two outs, and got the loss, 5-4.

Hank got another start and a relief appearance in April, two starts and two relief appearances (including his first win) in May, and a start and three relief appearances in June, before getting a regular spot in the rotation from July 11 to August 2. On July 15, at home against the Tigers, he pitched a three-hit shutout as Philadelphia won 11-0. However, in his next start, at home against the White Sox on the 20th, he only lasted one inning, allowing six unearned runs, though the Athletics came back to win 12-7. He also allowed a triple steal, as reported in the next day’s Oregonian:

MACKS OVERCOME WHITE HOSE 12 TO 7

Athletics Spot Chicago Six Runs, Then Take Game.

TRIPLE STEAL SUCCEEDS

Fonseca Scores Standing Up While Hank McDonald Is Wiggling Through Windup Motions.

…The White Sox completed a triple steal with the bases full to score its fourth run. Fonseca, Watwood and Grube executed the theft while McDonald was winding up, Fonseca scoring standing up before the young hurler released the ball…

Five days later Hank lasted into the ninth inning, allowing just five hits but walking nine, and allowing two unearned runs while getting a no-decision when the A’s came back in the 9^th to beat Cleveland 3-2. In his next start, August 2 in Washington, he was removed after five batters and one third of an inning; he only made two appearances, both in relief, after that. He wound up with a 3.71 ERA in 70 1/3 innings in 19 games, ten of them starts, while walking 41. Meanwhile the Athletics won their third straight pennant. They lost the World Series to the Cardinals in seven games; Hank didn’t get into any of them, though his name was mentioned as a possible starter before game five.

On November 11 Hank was sent back to Portland on option. On December 11 the Oregonian quoted “Beaver-Duck” president Turner:

…and Hank McDonald, the big young pitcher, are lent us under option. Connie Mack doesn’t want them to get away from him. He considers McDonald especially a certain big league star after another year of seasoning. He believes McDonald will be a big winner for Portland this season, for the big kid looked very hot pitching for the Athletics. Connie liked him so well that for a time he worked him as a regular.

His one need, says Connie, is more experience.

On January 4, 1932, Hank, not quite 21, married 18-year-old Laura Mae Maples in Los Angeles. Three months later he was the Beaver-Ducks’ opening day pitcher, although he lasted only 3 2/3 innings in an 18-14 loss, getting no decision. He had a 5-0 record at the end of May, and 7-2 at the end of June, around which time he injured his right wrist during batting practice. On July 3 he pitched a six-hit shutout with his wrist hurting him with each pitch, and after the game it was discovered that the wrist was broken. He doesn’t seem to have missed much time, though, as on July 22 he lasted into the ninth inning before being removed because the wrist was bothering him. On July 31 he pitched a five-hitter, and on August 11 the story of his pitching the shutout without knowing the wrist was broken was disseminated via the AP.

On August 19 Hank pitched a two-hit shutout, and on August 28 his opposing starter was Kenso Nushida of Sacramento, listed at 4-foot-10, the difference in their sizes drawing some attention. Around that time it was announced that Hank would be returning to the Philadelphia roster after the season and was expected to be with them in 1933. He finished 1932 with a 13-10 record and 3.38 ERA in 192 innings in 36 games, and walked only 59.

From the Santa Monica Corsair, January 1, 1933:

BASEBALL BROUGHT BACK TO S.M.J.C.

Baseball has returned to Santa Monica Junior College after being discontinued last year because playing facilities were lacking…

In order to help all prospects in the intricacies of pitching, Coach Brown has secured the services of Hank McDonald, former Samohi star, and present member of the Philadelphia Athletics’ staff. McDonald will work out with the players four nights a week until he leaves for the Athletics’ training camp in Florida on the eighteenth of February.

On February 12 the Oregonian listed Hank as a member of the Beaver-Ducks, and gave his address as 1417 S Crescent Heights Boulevard in Los Angeles. On March 9 the Sporting News reported:

Hank McDonald, the big pitcher the Philadelphia Athletics obtained from Portland of the Pacific Coast League, is still a member of the A’s, despite the fact that he has been carried on the roster of the Beavers. It appears Connie Mack wanted to take another look at him and as a result McDonald has another chance to make good in big league company.

On March 30 the Sporting News reported that “The Athletics are not counting on Hank McDonald, who appears to have learned few new tricks with Portland last season.” On April 3 the Washington Evening Star named him as likely being one of the four young A’s pitchers to be sent down in the next few days, and mentioned that he has a sore arm. He did not get sent down, but also did not get into a game until April 28, when he got the win in relief of Tony Freitas, despite giving up three runs in three innings, as Philadelphia beat the Red Sox 9-8. He then got his first start on May 14, in Cleveland, lasting seven innings and losing 5-3. After two more relief appearances, on May 28 he was placed on waivers and claimed by the St. Louis Browns.

Hank made his Browns debut on June 1, starting at home against the Indians; he was pinch-hit for in the bottom of the seventh, behind 3-0, and the Browns lost 3-1 to Wes Ferrell. He then made two relief appearances, including one where he allowed eight earned runs in 2 1/3 innings, then started three games without getting through the third inning in any of them. He spent the rest of the season in the bullpen except for one start in late July; the most noteworthy thing that happened was his hitting Babe Ruth in the ankle with a pitch on August 18, causing Ruth to miss a few games. For the Browns Hank had an 8.64 ERA and an 0-4 record in 58 1/3 innings in 25 games, five of them starts—throw in the five games with Philadelphia and his season ERA goes down to 8.02.

In January 1934 Hank’s name appeared on the St. Louis roster, and in February it was reported that he had signed a new contract with them. He was still on the roster when the regular season opened in mid-April; the Browns were about to option him to the Milwaukee Brewers but that fell through when they sold the Brewers to a group of Milwaukee businessmen on the 21^st. They offered to sell Hank to the new Brewers owners for $5000 but were told that he wasn’t worth it. Instead, on May 2, they sold him to the Class AA Newark Bears, a Yankee farm team.

Hank spent the season with Newark, and had a 4.29 ERA in 109 innings in 24 games; the highlight of the season for him was probably an exhibition game on August 31 in which he defeated his former team, the Athletics, 13-2, and struck out ten. On October 8 Laura gave birth to a daughter, also named Laura, in Los Angeles. On October 11 it was reported that Hank would be pitching in a winter league in Bakersfield on Sunday afternoons.

In January 1935 Hank was listed on the Newark roster, but the Yankees invited him to spring training. On April 11 the Sporting News reported:

Pitcher Hank McDonald, who has been suffering from a sore arm, was allowed to return to his home in California. Should the arm respond to treatment, McDonald will join Oakland, a link in the Yankee chain.

Also TSN, May 23:

The Oaks’ chances of remaining in the thick of the race were greatly enhanced with the addition to the pitching staff of Hank McDonald, formerly with Portland, the Athletics, Browns, Yankees and Newark. He had a sore arm last fall and the member continued to bother him this spring at the Newark training camp. McDonald was sent to his Los Angeles home and later was instructed to report at Oakland to test the flipper. After hurling in batting practice for a week, McDonald tried his hand at actual pitching, and, on May 12, beat Sacramento, 8 to 4. For the first six innings he allowed only four hits and then, because of his long lay-off, he weakened a bit and Lou McEvoy was called upon to retire the final batsman. However, McDonald appears to have as much as he ever had and may become quite a winner for Oakland.

From the Oakland Tribune, May 25:

De Viveiros’ Baby Adopted By Oaks as Team Mascot

His birth certificate reads Donald de Viveiros. But his father and mother and the nurses at Merritt Hospital immediately dubbed him “the little shortstop,” and the Oaks promptly adopted him as a mascot.

Donald’s baseball career began last Wednesday afternoon.

“The kid was born during a ball game, and he’s brought us luck already,” declares Bernard de Viveiros, utility infielder of the Oaks and first assistant to Manager Oscar Vitt.

At the close of the game during which de Viveiros heard the news, “It’s a boy,” the new member of the Oaks received his first present—a baseball autographed by Hank McDonald, winning pitcher of the game.

“It’s just a coincidence that we already had named the baby Donald, but Hank is certain it makes him a godfather or something,” says Mrs. de Viveiros…

Hank had the most successful year of his career, ending up with a 14-11 record and 3.25 ERA in 216 innings in 36 games, walking just 49. After the season ended he was returned to the Newark roster, but in February the Oaks talked the Yankees into returning him to them for 1936. From the March 20 Oakland Tribune:

Prosperity had made itself evident here the past week which is a good sign that baseball on the Pacific Coast faces its most successful season in five years. Ken Douglas, Hank McDonald and Trainer Billy Burke have purchased latest model cars…

Hank started the season back in the Oaks’ rotation. On April 20 the Oakland Tribune reported:

…He [manager Bill Meyer] intended to start Henry “Hank” McDonald on the hilltop tomorrow night, but Hank suffered a puncture in his thigh when he found himself resting on the sharp point of a small oil can as he moved his frame on the training table for Trainer Bill Burke to give him a rubdown.

Meyer had Burke make a speedy examination of the wound and Burke stated he believed McDonald will be able to work tomorrow night according to plan.

The game of the 21^st was rained out, then on the 22^nd Hank was taken out at the start of the second inning after complaining of a sore arm. After that his appearances were a mixture of starting and relieving until, on June 8, he was sold to the Milwaukee Brewers, now a Tigers farm team, for $5000—the same amount the Brewers said was too much two years previously. The sale included an option for the Brewers to return him within 30 days.

It took until the 14^th for Hank to join his new team, and on the 20^th he made his debut, in relief. On the 24^th he made a start and pitched a four-hitter, but after that he was back in the bullpen. On August 3 the Milwaukee Journal reported that Hank had been instructed to leave for Newark, which had technically owned his contract despite the fact that the Yankees had sent him to Oakland, because the Brewers had opted not to keep him (though this was significantly longer than 30 days). On August 7 the Journal elaborated on the situation:

Hank’s Release

Several communications pertaining to Hank McDonald’s release by the Brewers Monday have been received by this motorman. The readers point out that Hank, in his only start, calcimined the Millers and that after that he was used only as relief man. The reason Hank was not returned was because of his lack of a fast ball. His slow motion delivery gave him the reputation of being a “soft ball” pitcher among rival clubs. As relief hurler, the good natured Californian was no enigma. When Hank left the majors a few years ago he was famous for his speed. An injury to his arm, however, cost him the smoke, which every good pitcher must include in his repertoire.

That was the last mention of Hank I found during the season, so I don’t know if he pitched for Newark, or anywhere else. The stats we have show a 3.99 ERA in 70 innings in 13 games for Oakland and a 3.65 ERA in 37 innings in 13 games for Milwaukee.

On December 4 Newark sold Hank to Oakland, one Yankee team to another, and he was immediately sold by Oakland to the Portland Beavers, where he had started in 1929. On December 13 the Oregonian quoted Beavers’ business manager Rollie Schefter:

“The only question in Hank’s case is what shape his arm is in. The Yanks assured us his arm is right, and it was on this assurance that we made the deal. It certainly looked strong enough in some of the games Hank pitched against us.”

Reports from spring training 1937 said that Hank’s arm was doing well, that over the winter he had gone to a specialist who had fixed something in his neck that was thought to have been the problem, and that his new manager had determined that he was tipping off his curve ball. 

So the Beavers were cautiously optimistic to start the season, but at the end of April they sent him back to the Yankee organization as damaged goods. I found no evidence that he pitched anywhere else before he was sold to the New York Giants on June 6. The Giants sent him to their Jersey City team, Newark’s rivals in the International League.

It took Hank a few days to report to Jersey City, and then the Giants didn’t think he was quite ready to pitch. He debuted with them on June 20, when he relieved and was hit on his throwing hand by a line drive. It was feared that he had a broken finger, but it turned out to be just a bruise. On the 23^rd he got his first start and lost 3-1; on the 30^th he got another start and lost 4-3. That was enough for the Giants, and on July 1 they returned him to the Yankees. But he wasn’t out of chances; from the July 18 San Francisco Chronicle:

Seals Try Out New Pitcher

Charley Graham Will Give Hank McDonald Trial With S.F. Club

The Seals need pitchers so badly that Charley Graham feels disposed to take a chance on Hank McDonald, a tall right hander who has failed with two clubs this year, because of a sore arm. Hank was turned back by [to] Newark, one of the Yankees chain, and Graham has asked the manager of that chain the privilege of seeing McDonald in an actual game before closing a deal. If Hank can pitch as he did a few years ago he would help, but if he is one of those “broken arm” pitchers the Seals can’t use him for they have plenty of throwers now who can’t win.

On July 25 the Denver Post listed Hank on the roster of the Bay Refiners, a Denver team participating in the Post’s big semipro tournament which attracted teams from around the country. On July 28 it was reported that he was coming to the Seals on option, and the Chronicle reported on August 3:

Hank McDonald, tall right handed pitcher, who is here on trial, will work this week and if he can pitch winning ball he will be a welcome addition to the Seals’ pitching staff, which is in a shaky condition. If Hank is not right he will be turned back to Newark. He has been on trial twice this year and his arm did not respond, but he thinks the flipper is all right now. Anyway he will get a chance to use it.

Hank got the start in the second game of a doubleheader on August 8, at home against Sacramento. The game was scheduled for seven innings but was tied 4-4 after seven; Hank allowed seven runs in the eighth and lost 11-7. On August 26 the Sporting News reported:

The Seals are stringing along with Hank McDonald, long-geared right-hander, who looked good before he hurt his arm. He was taken on the recent trip north by the Seals, but he did not start a game, or even warm up. The plan is to give him a long rest, in the hope he will show something before the close of this season and prove his value for next year. He is with the club on option from Newark, with the Seals having the right to buy him if he shows enough to warrant purchase.

The last thing I found about Hank during the 1937 season was that on September 11 he hit a home run in a game in which he pitched 4 1/3 innings in relief. His PCL totals, between Portland and San Francisco, were 26 innings in seven games with a 0-1 record; in the International League for Jersey City he had a 0-1 record in three games. He didn’t pitch enough to appear in the more detailed stats for either league.

By February 1938 Hank was being referred to as property of the Yankees, so apparently the Seals had given up on him. He went back to spring training with the Oakland Oaks, who were no longer part of the Yankee system but independent; the San Francisco Chronicle said that “The Yankees own him and rather than pay fare on him from his home at Santa Monica they have turned him over to the Oaks for trial.” On March 22 he got the loss in an exhibition game, and on April 3 the Oregonian reported:

Far from being discouraged about his bad arm, which for the second year in succession caused his release back to the Yanks by the Oaks of Oakland, just as Portland turned him back last spring, Hank McDonald thinks his arm is coming back, and avers he had twice as much on his fast ball as a year ago…how Hank got that bad arm carries a lesson to every young pitcher—never bear down that you try to throw harder than the arm will stand…Hank did that at Newark in a tough spot four years ago, and the arm has been gone ever since…[ellipses part of original article]

This was apparently the end of Hank’s baseball career, at age 27. In the 1938 Los Angeles Index to Register of Voters he and Laura are shown as registered Democrats living at 1542 S Wooster St., and he is listed as a ballplayer. In 1940 they are at 5516 Hazeltine Ave, which is apparently now a Sherman Oaks address, and he is a policeman. On October 16, 1940, Hank filled out his draft registration, which showed the Hazeltine Avenue address but listed it as being in Van Nuys. He gave his employer as “20^th Century-Fox Film Corp., Fox Hills-Los Angeles-Calif,” his size as 6-4 205, and his appearance as hazel eyes, brown hair, and light complexion.

In 1942 Hank and Laura are still registered Democrats at 5516 Hazeltine, and Hank is still listed as a policeman. Perhaps he was actually a security guard at the film studio. In 1944 he is shown as a machinist; after that they stopped listing professions, but Hank and Laura continued at 5516 Hazeltine through 1954. Both of Hank’s parents passed away in 1961. I found no reference to Hank and Laura getting divorced, but the California Marriage Index has two listings for 56-year-old Henry M. McDonald getting married in Los Angeles on May 6, 1967, one to 42-year-old Viola G. Schill and one to 42-year-old Viola G. Pitcher. Hank passed away at age 71 on October 17, 1982, in Hemet, California.