McDonald attended the University of Notre Dame, where he was the first baseman and team captain for the baseball team, and both the quarterback and placekicker for the football team in 1899. McDonald was the first kicker at the university to utilize a holder (a technique known then as the "Princeton Kick") rather than the drop kick. In 1931, McDonald was named a Knight of Malta by Pope Pius XI. In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS Angus McDonald was named in his honor.