- Doak Had So Much Stuff The Cards Were Forced To Win
- Cardinal “Spitter” Strikes Out Cub Sluggers With Men on Second and Third
- Fooled the Cubs With Consummate Ease and a Spitball
- “That Young Man’s a Pitcher” said Future Hall of Famer Roger Bresnahan
- Gives up 3 hits and no runs in 9 innings. He struck out 10, walked 5, and hit two by pitch
April 21, 1914 Age 23
By W. J. O’Connor St Louis Post Dispatch
Willie Doak was in there Monday fooling the Cubs with consummate ease and a spitball. He had so much stuff that the Cardinals were forced to win, 2-0, although the proteges of Huggins hammered home only one run and that was tainted.
Lee Magee did come through with a timely punch, the first run-getting wallop in a week, but the Cards as a whole were shy with the stick and had not the Cubs booted a few, the local talent might have escaped without a victory in spite of Doak.
The blond Akronite pitched the tightest game seen on the local team this season, his work In the opening epic being particularly artistic. After Leach and Good had hit in sequence, Sweeney, in this round, sacrificed and put it up to the mighty Zim and the troublesome Schulte. Doak fanned Zim on four pitched balls, Heine swinging at the at three. He then fanned Schulte, who took tjree healthy reefs at the pill. That ended the game.
Ten Strike Outs for Willie.
In nine frames Doak disposed of 10 Cubs on strikes. Leach was the only one who wasn’t deceived at least once. Schulte fanned the artic ozone twice while Saier did likewise. As a grand finale, Doak slipped over the third strike on Bresnahan, who has an eagle eye.
It was a refreshing exhibition for the .Robison Field loyalists, who numbered about 1000, mostly bleacherites, to watch. Doak yielded only three hits, two coming In the first frame. Johnston’s punch in the seventh was the only other blot on Doak’s almost perfect exhibition.
Our former fellow townsman {and future Hall of Famer}, Roger P. Bresnahan, allowed as how Doak had “some” stuff. “That young man’s a pitcher,” said Roger after the game. “He was zipping that fast one through there so regularly that you couldn’t see It. He’s got the meanest spitball I’ve seen this year and I look for him to win a few more games.”