on this date
On this date in 1939, Morton native Atley Donald set the American League rookie record for consecutive wins at 12 when he beat the St. Louis Browns 5-1 at Yankee Stadium. The record would stand for almost 40 years. Donald, nicknamed “Swampy,” went 13-3 for the ’39 New York Yankees, considered by some to be the best team of all-time. Throwing a fastball said to touch the upper 90s, Donald went 65-33 with a 3.52 ERA in an eight-year big league career curtailed by injuries. He became a Yankees scout after his playing days and scouted Ron Guidry, who signed with the Yankees and, as a rookie in 1978, won 13 straight games, breaking Donald’s record.