June 4, 1955 (Seven months after Bill’s passing)
By Marion Leslie Pittsburg Sun Telegraph
This is a baseball story about a woman, who at 87 sees at least three games a week when the Pirates are playing at Forbes Field.
Her name is Mrs. William Doak. She’s the mother of one of the major league’s great pitchers, the late William (Bill) Doak, to whom the William Doak Memorial field was dedicated recently in Bradenton, Florida.
We sat with her and her daughter, Mrs. Hazel Shook, on the sun-drenched porch of their Stratford Ave. home for almost half an hour yesterday talking about baseball and life in the Doak household when Bill and Hazel were children.
Said Mrs. Doak:
“My mother saw Bill throw a baseball one day and she said, ‘that boy’s going to be a baseball player.’”
And Mrs. Shook added:
“I think Bill was about 7 then, but he always knew he wanted to play baseball.”
Then she laughed and recalled how he and she used to “play catch” on the way to school when they lived in Knoxville.
Sandlot Days
It was in Knoxville that Bill started playing baseball with a sandlot team.
One day, his mother and the team had to have some dark blue uniforms. So Mrs. Doak put her wash boiler into to this special service, with the young team-mates supervising to be sure the blue was dark enough.
Every word Mrs. Doak and her daughter said revealed how closely knit the Doak family was. They talked about Bill’s father playing ball with him, and about the games they all saw.
They started going to Forbes Field about 1909, Mrs. Shook said.
Though Mrs. Doak enjoys watching all kinds of sports, her son’s love of baseball naturally made It her favorite.
For Bill Doak became a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1913 and the next year saw him the leading pitcher In the National League. He pitched 12 years for the Redbirds before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Records show he was rated one of the best golfers among big league baseballers. After he retired to Bradenton, he had the pleasure of seeing one of his sons win the Florida High School and State Amateur golf championships,
Speaking of her son, Mrs. Doak said:
“He visited us here three years ago and had planned to come again this year.”
Watches Pitcher
Mrs. Doak and her daughter saw the Pirates defeat the Cardinals at Forbes Field Thursday.
Though she always holds a tender feeling for the team with which her son once pitched, Mrs. Doak and her daughter both were delighted with Pirate Frankie Thomas’ home run Thursday.
Tomorrow when Mrs. Doak and Mrs. Shook take their favorite seats in section 15 they hope Frankie will hit a couple more home runs during the double header with Cincinnati. Why does Mrs. Doak prefer to sit in section 15?
Her daughter smiled and explained: “Because she can watch the pitcher.”
June 1955 – Bill’s mother Bertha and sister Hazel. Bill passed away in November, 1954.
