August 24, 1914 Age 23
By Harry F. Pierce The St Louis Star and Times
St. Louis. The trade between the Cards and Pirates last winter is not the only thing the generous Herr, and Dreyfus of the Pittsburg club, did to make the Cardinals a pennant factor. Some few years ago they pared to make the 1914 season one which the Cardinals would owe a big debt of gratitude by Catcher Pat O’Connor to the club.
This year the Cardinals were afforded an opportunity to land the veteran backstop, Catcher Pat O’Connor, and land him they did. He was purchased from the Kansas City Club last year. This year he has done as much as any man on the team, and a whole lot more than the majority of them, towards making a winner of the Cardinals. O’Connor was of very little use to the team as a catcher while such stellar young receivers as Ivy Wingo and Frank Snyder are on the club’s roster, but as a coach for the young pitchers he has more than earned the salary paid him by President Schuyler Britton.
PICKING A LIVE ONE
Bill Doak was a very promising hurler, but owing to his inexperience he managed to lose more games than he won in 1913. Huggins recommended the purchase of O’Connor because he realized that two promising young men, Doak and Perritt, needed the advice and coaching of a veteran backstop. O’Connor was procured, and as every fan knows, Perritt and Doak have developed into the two best righthanders in the National League.
The Irish veteran devoted most of his time at the training camp that spring to catching and coaching the two young pitchers. He told Manager Huggins early in the season that they would eventually be the best young hurlers in the league.
To date Doak has won sixteen and lost but five games, while Perritt is credited with twelve victories and eight defeats. Doak had the best spitball of any twirler in the National League when he came to the Cardinals, but he did not know how to use it to the best advantage and was wasting his strength by pitching nothing but the spitter.
O’CONNOR’S SAGE ADVICE.
In consequence he would go great guns for a few innings and then his strength would give way and he’d become as easy for opposing batsmen to hit as a 10-year-old school boy. O’Connor sagely advised his charges to conserve their strength and leave a bit of the work to their teammates. He taught them how to disguise their offerings so the opposition would have more difficulty in gauging their delivery and connecting with the ball.
Hour after hour, day after day, the crafty Hibernian worked with the youngsters until he had developed them to the degree that they became regulars on Miller Huggins’ pitching staff.
O’Connor made winners of Perritt and Doak. Now the veteran receiver is devoting most of his attention to the development of the other pitchers.
O’Connor is as much interested in the success of the Cardinals as is Huggins himself, and he can be found in the third base coacher’s box guiding the Cardinals to victory in each game. He helped make the Cardinals what they are today.