Bill Doak

Infobox MLB retired
name=Bill Doak
position=Pitcher


bgcolor1=#0a2252
bgcolor2=#c41e3a
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
birthdate=January 28, 1891
city-state|Pittsburgh|Pennsylvania
deathdate=death date and age|1954|11|26|1891|1|28
city-state|Bradenton|Florida
bats=Right
throws=Right
debutdate=September 1
debutyear=1912
debutteam=Cincinnati Reds
finaldate=May 13
finalyear=1929
finalteam=St. Louis Cardinals
stat1label=Pitching Record
stat2label=Earned run average
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat1value=169-157
stat2value=2.98
stat3value=1014
teams=
*Cincinnati Reds (1912)
*St. Louis Cardinals (1913-1924, 1929)
*Brooklyn Robins (1924, 1927-1928)
highlights=
*National League ERA champion: 1914, 1921

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

ee also

* List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
* List of Major League Baseball ERA champions

External links

*baseball-reference|id=d/doakbi01