Minor leagues Donohue was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1956 season and assigned to the
minor league Class D
Gainesville G-Men of the
Florida State League. In his first full professional season, he posted a 5–6
win–loss record with a 2.08
earned run average in 95
innings pitched. For the 1957 season, Donohue was promoted to the
Winnipeg Goldeyes of the Class C
Northern League. He appeared in more games and pitched 141 innings to attain a 7–7 record, but his ERA more than doubled, ballooning to a 4.34 while having a very high mark for
Walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) at 1.589. He was later optioned to the Class A
York White Roses of the
Eastern League. He got off to a very hot start in his 14 games with the team, putting up a perfect 7–0 record with a 1.48 ERA in 10 starts. He came across some bad luck a few weeks later, however, as he was out for a week after being hit on July 14 by a line drive on his ankle. Overall at Houston he compiled a 3–7 record with a 4.50 ERA and 89
strikeouts in 82 innings of work. Donohue started the 1959 season in
Triple-A with the
American Association Omaha Cardinals. He pulled double duty as a starter and reliever, starting 18 games and playing the relief role in 16. He put down a 2.43 ERA with 87 strikeouts and a 3–7 record in 132 innings. In mid-June 1960, in the midst of a second campaign with Rochester, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization, and finished the campaign with
St. Paul, one of the Dodgers' three Triple-A affiliates. That off-season he was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the
Rule 5 draft, opening the door for his major league career.
Major leagues As a
rookie in 1961, Donohue worked in 14 early-season games, all in
relief, splitting two
decisions and earning a
save. But on June 7, 1961, the
pennant-contending Tigers swapped him to the Los Angeles Angels, then in their first season as an
American League expansion team, for veteran
Jerry Casale. The Angels increased Donohue's workload, getting him into 38 games, including seven
starts, with Donohue posting a 4–6
won–lost record, with five more saves. He then began 1962 with the Angels, working in a dozen games (11 of them in relief) until, on May 29, he was traded for a veteran hurler yet again, this time in exchange for the Minnesota Twins'
Don Lee. But Donohue was ineffective in six appearances in a Minnesota uniform, losing his only decision and allowing eight
earned runs in 10 innings pitched. After his final Twins' outing, on June 22 against the Angels, he was sent to Triple-A
Vancouver. He pitched in the high minors in the Twins' organization through 1964 before leaving baseball. In his 70 major league games, which included nine starts, Donohue posted a 6–8 career record with an
earned run average of 4.29. He had no
complete games and seven saves. In 155
innings pitched, he permitted 152
hits and 82
bases on balls, with 116
strikeouts. Jim Donohue died September 9, 2017, at age 79 in St. Louis. ==References==