Books and articles about Bill Doak

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Doak joined St. Louis at age 22 and spent over 11 years as a dependable pitcher with generally lackluster Cardinal teams. In his sophomore 1914 season, he went 20-6 with a NL-low 1.72 ERA, boosting the Cards to their best record up to that time. The spitballer's 20 wins in 1920 weren't enough to keep St. Louis from finishing fifth. The next year, Doak's .714 winning percentage (15-6) and 2.59 ERA led all NL hurlers. When Doak followed with losing seasons in 1922-23, Branch Rickey dealt the veteran to Brooklyn in mid-1924. Doak went 11-5 the remainder of that campaign, then voluntarily retired. He returned in 1927, and posted an 11-8 record with the Dodgers before fading and ending his career back with St. Louis in 1929. Doak remains among the Cardinals' top ten all-time in eight pitching categories, with his 32 shutouts ranking second only to Bob Gibson's 56. (DQV)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » August 26, 1914: The Giants lose 1–0 to the Cardinals, managing just three hits off Bill Doak, but win game two on a 2-hitter by Christy Mathewson over Slim Sallee. The 4–0 win is Matty's 20th. » April 12, 1917: Before a near-capacity crowd of 24,000, the visiting Cardinals beat the Reds 5–1 behind Bill Doak. » September 18, 1917: For the 2nd time this month, a pitcher beats Brooklyn twice in one day, as the Cardinals' Bill Doak wins 2–0 and 12–4. With his 14th and 15th victories, Doak picked up a bonus check as well. In a salary dispute in the spring, the Cards and Doak agreed upon a bonus if the pitcher reached 15 wins, and another bonus if he won twenty. He'll win just one more. » August 10, 1920: Failure to cover 1B in the seventh costs Bill Doak a no-hitter in the Cards' 5-1 win over the Phils. Doak, a good-fielding pitcher, invented a glove with an adjustable pocket. The Rawlings Sporting Goods company began producing a Bill Doak glove in the spring of this year. » December 17, 1920: The American League votes to allow pitchers who used the spitball in 1920 to continue using it as long as they are in the league. The National League will do the same. There will be 17 designated spitters in all, eight in the NL and nine in the AL. For the NL: Bill Doak, Phil Douglas, Dana Fillingim, Ray Fisher, Marvin Goodwin, Burleigh Grimes, Clarence Mitchell, and Dick Rudolph. For the AL: A.W. Ayers, Slim Caldwell, Stan Coveleski, Red Faber, H.B. Leonard, Jack Quinn, Allan Russell, Urban Shocker, and Allen Sothoron. » May 30, 1922: Between games of the Memorial Day A.M.-P.M. doubleheader, the Cubs swap OF Max Flack to the Cards for OF Cliff Heathcote. Flack, who lives just three blocks from Cubs Park, went home for lunch between games, and arrived back in the Cubs clubhouse to find that he'd been traded. The players, who both played in the morning game, trade uniforms and play for their new teams in the afternoon. Heathcote is 0-for-3 as a Card, 2-for-4 as a Cub. Flack is hitless in the first game, 1–for-4 in the 2nd, as the Cubs win both, 4–1 and 3–1. George Stueland wins the opener and Vic Aldridge is the winner in the afternoon. In the nitecap, Cubs SS Charlie Hollocher strikes out for the first time this year, on a Bill Doak spitter. A .304 career hitter, he will whiff five times in 1922. In three years he will fan 33 times in 372 games. » July 13, 1922: Cardinal P Bill Doak misses a no-hitter when he neglects to cover 1B on an infield single by Phillie OF Curt Walker in the 7th. Jack Fournier, playing 1B, fields the ball but Doak fails to cover the bag. Doak still wins the game 1–0. » September 6, 1924: Spitball hurler Bill Doak pitches the Robins into first place with a 1–0 win over Boston. It is Brooklyn's 15th win in a row. The streak ends in a 5–4 Braves win in the 2nd game, and Brooklyn falls back to 3rd place behind the Giants and Pirates.