Delos Drake
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Delos Daniel Drake (December 3, 1886 - October 3, 1965) was a Major League Baseball player who played 83 games in the Detroit Tigers outfield in 1911 beside Ty Cobb and also played in the Federal League in 1914 and 1915 for the St. Louis Terriers.
Born in Girard, Ohio, Drake grew up around baseball as his father was the manager of the Findlay Sluggers, a semi-pro baseball team in the 1890s. Drake was signed by the Detroit Tigers but struggled for several years to win a spot in the Detroit outfield featuring Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, and the popular Davey Jones. He spent time in the minor leagues playing for the Wilkes-Barre Barons in the Ohio-Pennsylvania League. Drake finally won a place on the roster, sharing the left field spot with Davy Jones in 1911. Drake had speed, hitting for a .279 average in 315 at bats for the Tigers, with 9 triples and 20 stolen bases. In two years with the Terriers, he played all three outfield positions and hit .251 in 1914 and .265 in 1915. In 3 major league seasons, Drake played in 335 games, scored 120 runs, and had 308 hits, 119 RBIs, and 43 stolen bases.
After leaving baseball, Drake worked for Marathon Oil for over 30 years until his retirement in 1951. [1] Drake was also a prize-winning trap shooter and worked as a cowboy. [2] He died in 1965 at age 78 in Findlay, Ohio.
