Bill Doak

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Bill Doak was born January 28, 1891, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He played 11 years with the St. Louis Cardinals teams. In 1914, he went 20-6 with a league leading 1.72 ERA. Doak won 20 games in 1920. Doak led the NL in ERA again in 1921. Doak was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers in mid-1924.

He returned to St. Louis for a short stint in 1929 before retiring. His lifetime record is 169-157, with an ERA of 2.98 and 1014 strikouts. Even though Doak played with many unremarkable teams, he is among the Cardinals' top ten in eight pitching categories, with his 32 shutouts second behind Bob Gibson.

Doak's main pitch was the spitball. When the pitch was outlawed in 1920, Doak was one of seventeen pitchers allowed to continue throwing the spitball.

His most lasting contribution to the sport was for an improved baseball glove. In 1920, he suggested to Rawlings (company) that a web should be laced between the first finger and thumb. He said it would create a natural pocket. The Bill Doak glove soon replaced all other baseball gloves and is the standard to this day.

He died November 26, 1954 in Bradenton, Florida.