Donovan was born in
Epping, New Hampshire, in 1864. He started his professional baseball career in 1894 with the
New England League's Bangor Millionaires. The following year, he played for the
National League's Cleveland Spiders. In three games, he went 1 for 12 at the plate with 1
run batted in and 1
walk. That was the only time Donovan would appear in the major leagues. In 1903, Donovan became the regular catcher for the
Bloomington Bloomers of the
Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League. He appeared in over 100 games each year from 1903 to 1905 and posted
batting averages of .156, .228, and .236. In 1904, he set his career-high for
hits in a season, with 97. He then played for the Springfield Senators from 1907 to 1909. Donovan's baseball career ended in 1912. He died in
Springfield, Illinois, in 1916 and was buried in
Oak Ridge Cemetery. ==References==