Nomination year: 2020

Nominated by: Thomas Watson

Nomination Category: Heritage

Sport: Basketball, Tennis, and Fishing

Years Participated: Mid-1930s & Beyond

Career Summary:

The late Marshall Donaldson played basketball for Celina High School in the mid-1930s and, though records for this period are nonexistent, he was obviously an outstanding player due to the fact he signed a scholarship to play at David Lipscomb.

There he also excelled, according to articles found in 1936 editions of the Tennessean.  “The brilliant goal tossing of Marshall Donaldson, who hit the nets for 17 points, was a big factor in Lipscomb’s triumph,” one newspaper clipping detailing a Bison win said during a time when the team only averaged 38 points per game–which were high-scoring contests for the era.

Another reported the fact Donaldson tied a teammate for the lead in scoring the same year.  “Scoring honors in the arduous 18-game court campaign waged by the David Lipscomb college Bison are shared by Marshall Donaldson and Elbur “Flukey” Baskette,” the article said.  “They ended the season in a dead heat with 119 points each.  Donaldson sank 51 field goals and 17 charity tosses (on the season).”

Stories of Donaldson’s athletic prowess were also told, including Mary Emma Scoby Reneau chronicling mixed-doubles tennis championships the two won during their days at Lipscomb and he was also known as one the area’s best fishermen winning multiple state fishing contests once he returned home from school.

Following graduation from Lipscomb, Donaldson became a longtime local educator–a decades-long stint that included time as Celina High School principal.  He finished his career as the school’s building-trades instructor and he is remembered through the still-standing trades building named in his honor.

Nominator comment:

“Even though we don’t have record of it, Marshall Donaldson had to have been an outstanding high school basketball player to get the opportunity to play at the next level back then and, when you take into account his other talents and the contribution he made to local education and sports throughout his entire life, there’s no doubt he deserves to be in the Clay County Sports Hall of Fame.”