1913 GOLDSMITH'S ALL-NATIONS BASEBALL CLUB POSTCARD W/JOSE MENDEZ (HOF) & NEGRO LEAGUE STAR JOHN DONALDSON.
Item Description
This recently discovered treasure is now just the second known surviving example. The other, also offered by us, realized $14,278 in our July 2018 auction (SGC graded 20 Fair 1.5).
3.5x5.5" showing the earliest known International barnstorming team to travel the U.S., taking on all comers in the Upper Midwest and beyond. The All-Nations Baseball Club was founded in the state of Iowa during the summer of 1912 by future Negro League HOFer, J. L. Wilkinson and his business partner J.E. Gaul. What made this team so unique for their time was the fact that this multi-racial group was comprised of ball players from not only the continental U.S. but also Hawaii, Japan, Cuba, the Philippines, China and India. At the end of the team's inaugural season of 1912, they posted a record of 92 wins against only 22 losses and their rookie superstar, John Donaldson, was quickly establishing himself as one of the top young pitchers in all of baseball.
The following year, 1913, saw the addition of another key pitcher, Jose Mendez, a native of Cuba. With Donaldson now having another top quality pitcher to team up with, the All-Nations Club steamrolled almost everybody they played during the 1913 season, finishing w/a record of 124-17-4. During this season, Donaldson was credited w/a 29 strikeout game in a contest that lasted 16 innings in St. Paul, MN. Not only was this a great baseball club but they also began implementing a number of innovative ideas which would become future staples for the sport through the later-1910s and into the 1920s. First and foremost, this traveling ball club was one of the first, if not the first, to implement an early lighting system for nighttime baseball.
At the conclusion of the 1913 season, co-founder, J.E. Gaul was to take over in a management role for the All-Nations club as they prepared for the upcoming 1914 schedule. One of the key focuses for Gaul was to not only present a quality baseball club but to make it a profitable venture, and thus would use any available opportunity for promoting his ball club. In this manner, the 1913 All-Nations team postcard presented here takes on an even more important meaning. While it is significant enough that this depicts both Mendez and Donaldson at a very early point in their careers, Gaul took advantage of the opportunity to get more recognition for his team by using this postcard as a season pass allowing entry to his All-Nations Ball Club games for one lucky reporter. Evidence of this practice appears on the back of the postcard where "Admit One To Ball Game" has been ink stamped and "Local Mgr" has been written in ink (the other know example was for a "reporter) and Gaul's signature (believed to be in his hand) authorizing such appears on the postcard back as well. Also of note, the Goldsmith's name that appears on the players' jerseys on the front of the postcard represents the team's annual sponsor for the 1913 season, Goldsmith's Hardware.
Due in large part to the extensive research performed by The Donaldson Network group, we are able to provide a nearly complete listing of identifications for all players pictured on this postcard. From left to right: Art Dunbar, Frank Blattner, John Donaldson, McBride, George Walla, Castanier, Jose Mendez (HOF), Pedros, Cabinas, Chief Seymour and Naito. Mendez was inducted into the National Baseball Hall Of Fame in 2006.
Lt. moisture staining across the top. Dark brown staining on front lower right corner. Faint crease top left and crease running vertically at right but more noticeable to the eye on the back, on front it is more noticeable to the touch. Other typical trace of aging as to be expected on a paper item of this age. This still presents very nicely for display with rarity and historical significance the focal points vs. the noted condition issues. A significant piece worthy of even the most advanced Negro League collection.
