Donald Ferguson

Donald Ferguson was an American writer of popular juvenile fiction in the early twentieth century. Reliable records of his life and dates are lacking, and it cannot even be confirmed whether the name was a pseudonym, so public information is quite limited. In 1919, the World Syndicate Publishing Company of Cleveland issued his "Scranton High Chums" series. Five titles from the series are held in the collection, including The Chums of Scranton High out for the Pennant, The Scranton High Chums on the Cinder Path, and The Chums of Scranton High at Ice Hockey. Set in high school life and centered on sports such as baseball and ice hockey, these stories follow a group of boys who work together and face challenges on and off the field, told in a brisk, accessible style with the inspirational tone common to juvenile reading of the period. They offer a concrete example of early American boys' sports fiction and its publishing landscape.