Heritage Athlete

1956-1960

The late John Clark Donaldson played both football and basketball for Celina High School all four years of his career from the fall of 1956 to the spring of 1960, when he was the captain of the Bulldogs on the hardwood his senior season and was named the Most Athletic Senior of the graduating Class of 1960.

Donaldson was an outstanding fullback and lineman during his football career and played for legendary head coach John Teeples during the golden age of Bulldog football. He earned All-Cordell Hull Conference honors his junior year, All-Upper Cumberland Conference honors his senior year, and the 1958 Best Lineman Award.

He was also Valedictorian, Class President, and Student Council President of his class, before he completed his course of study in three years at Tennessee Tech and became one of very few to be accepted into Auburn University’s Veterinarian School—where he obtained his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 1967.

Donaldson returned home to Celina to become Clay County’s first veterinarian and served as a member of the Clay County School Board for 30 years, where he was the board chairman the majority of that time and a lifetime supporter of all Clay County sports.