Bill Drake (baseball)

William "Plunk" Drake (June 8, 1895, Sedalia, Missouri - October 30, 1977) was a Negro League baseball pitcher.

Drake pitched for top Negro League teams between 1915 and 1930, primarily remembered for his time with the Kansas City Monarchs, participating in two Colored World Series in 1924 and 1925. He gained his colorful nickname from his propensity for pitching inside to batters and his willingness to hit batters who crowded the plate. He claimed to have taught Satchel Paige his famous Hesitation Pitch, though credit is usually given to Bill Gatewood.

Teams played for

*Tennessee Rats, 1914
*All Nations, 1915
*St. Louis Giants, 1916-21
*St. Louis Stars, 1922 & 1930
*Kansas City Monarchs, 1922-26
*Indianapolis ABCs, 1926
*Dayton Marcos, 1926
*Memphis Red Sox, 1926
*Detroit Stars, 1927

References

*cite book
last=Peterson
first=Robert
title=Only the Ball Was White
publisher=McGraw-Hill Book Company
year=1984
id=ISBN 0070495998
*cite book
last=Riley
first=James A.
year=1994
title=The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues
place=New York, NY
publisher=Carroll & Graf
isbn=0786709596
*cite book
last=Holway
first=John B.
year=2001
title=The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues: The Other Half of Baseball History
place=Fern Park, FL
publisher=Hastings House Publishers
isbn=0803820070
* [http://thegloryofbaseball.blogspot.com/2005/09/interview-with-bill-drake.html University of Mississippi-St Louis Negro Baseball Project: Oral History Interview with Bill Drake]

External links

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