Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith jumped McDonald straight to broadcasting for the major league team in 1934, and he immediately became a hit.

McDonald was one of the first to use "ducks on the pond" as a term for players on base,[5] and was notable for quoting an old country tune, "They Cut Down the Old Pine Tree", after a Senators win.

The radio listeners would hear the click of a ticker tape machine, and the announcer would convey the play; "It's a long fly ball to deep center, going, going... gone.

For many years, it was common for Senators fans to crowd around McDonald's studio at a drug store on G Street, near the White House, for his recreations.

McDonald was the Democratic candidate for Maryland's 6th congressional district in the 1946 House of Representatives election,[3] losing to incumbent James Glenn Beall, 58.1% to 41.9%.