[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 107 (Tuesday, July 20, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF RICHARD ATLEY DONALD'S LIFE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GREGG HARPER

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 20, 2010

  Mr. HARPER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of the 
only major league baseball player to be born in Morton, Mississippi, 
located in the congressional district in which I serve. His name: 
Richard Atley Donald.
  Donald's ancestors traveled in a covered wagon from South Carolina to 
Mississippi in pursuit of the American Dream. The family ultimately 
settled in Morton, in central Mississippi, where Atley was born on 
August 19, 1910. A year and a half later they moved to Downsville, 
Louisiana, where Atley's love for the game of baseball would commence.
  A star college baseball player, Atley attended Louisiana Tech 
University in Ruston after graduating from high school in 1929. Atley 
earned four lettermen's, and as a freshman, he was said to be ``the 
most promising of the Bullpups'' by a 1930 review of the freshman 
baseball team.
  Although the New York Yankees southern region scout, Johnny Nee, had 
received a recommendation letter from Atley's head coach and had 
witnessed him pitch, the Yankees did not sign him. But Atley did not 
let this hinder him from following his dreams of playing for the 
Yankees. With $25 in his pocket and his brother's rain coat, he 
hitchhiked to St. Petersburg, Florida where the Yankees held spring 
training. Nee introduced Atley to the Yankee's skipper, Joe McCarthy, 
who sent the young pitcher to the mound against some of baseball's 
greatest players, such as Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Atley prevailed and 
signed a minor league contract in 1936 where he pitched and hit his way 
into the major league by 1939.
  Richard Atley's career is highlighted by playing for the 1939 Newark 
Bears who are considered to be one of the minor league's greatest 
teams, throwing a 94.7 mph record pitch in 1939, setting the American 
League record for most wins by a rookie in 1939, and pitching in the 
1941 World Series won by the Yankees. The first major league pitcher 
from Louisiana Tech, Atley was inducted into the Louisiana Tech 
University Hall of Fame with a .663 winning percentage.
  After Atley pitched his last game on July 13, 1945, he spent 29 years 
as a scout for the Yankees, recruiting players in Alabama, Arkansas, 
Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, 
South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. His recruits included Ron Guidry, 
Clint ``Scrap Iron'' Courtney, Jack Reed, and Ron Blomberg,
  In all, Richard Atley spent 39 years wearing the pinstripes of the 
New York Yankees. Atley passed away on October 19, 1992 in West Monroe, 
Louisiana, leaving behind his wife, Betty. Although he is no longer 
with us, his legacy lives on 100 years later in the hearts of all of us 
who continue to celebrate America's favorite pastime.

                          ____________________