He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers / St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox and Washington Senators between 1900 and 1909.

[1] He spent 1903 exclusively playing for the minor-league Brewers, recording a .342 batting average in 123 games.

His defensive skills were a key to the team's 1906 championship, and he led American League first basemen in fielding percentage, assists, and putouts for three consecutive seasons, from 1905 to 1907.

[3] Donahue also holds the major-league single-season record for range factor, averaging 12.65 chances accepted per game in 1907.

In 1906, Donahue was among the league leaders in stolen bases (36) and sacrifice hits (36), and was one of only three White Sox starters to bat over .250 for that season's major-league champions, nicknamed the "Hitless Wonders."

In 1907, Donahue led the league in games played (157) and at bats (609) and was among the leaders in hits (158) and RBIs (68).