Taylor Douthit

As the center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1926 to 1930, Taylor Douthit was one of the game’s top defensive players. His career range factor ranks first among all outfielders,1 and his 547 putouts in 1928 remain the major-league record for outfielders.2 An effective leadoff hitter,3 Douthit averaged .302 over that five-year span in helping the club win three pennants and its first World Series title.

When Douthit began the 1931 season in a slump and then injured his hip, a brash rookie named Pepper Martin took over and played well, prompting speculation that the veteran was expendable. Although Douthit returned to the lineup and raised his batting average to .331, the Cardinals sent him to the last-place Cincinnati Reds at the trading deadline.4

St. Louis went on to win the pennant and, thanks in large part to Martin’s stellar performance, the World Series. Cincinnati finished the season in the cellar, with Douthit batting .262 in 95 games. His average slipped to .243 the following season, and in 1933 the outfielder known to St. Louis fans as “The Ball Hawk”5 was out of baseball. The nagging hip injury, which would limit his mobility later in life, had cost him a step in the outfield and adversely affected his swing.

Taylor Lee Douthit was born April 22, 1901, in Little Rock, Arkansas, the first child of Abram Lee Douthit and Annie Taylor Douthit. The young family was then living with Annie’s parents, John A. Taylor and Amanda Todd Taylor. John Taylor was an insurance agent, as were his sons Charles and Frank. The elder Douthit, who went by Lee, was a mail clerk. In September 1902, the Douthit and Taylor families moved to Oakland, California, where John Taylor, his sons, and his son-in-law formed Taylor Bros. & Co., an insurance and real estate agency.6

Taylor Douthit graduated from Oakland’s Technical High School in 1919 and the University of California in Berkeley four years later.7 He did not play baseball at Tech until his senior year and tried out for the team only at the urging of a classmate. “I was too small [and] did not start shooting up in height until I was 17 or 18 years old,” he later explained.8 The newcomer — who would grow to be 5-feet-11 as a big leaguer — landed a spot in the outfield and led the team in hitting en route to the 1919 state championship.9 He also played basketball, competed in track and field, and even received a good review for his role in the senior class play.10

At Cal, Douthit earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture, studying the canning and packaging of fruit and vegetables while specializing in chemistry and bacteriology. He was a member of Alpha Zeta, the professional organization for agriculture students, the Pi Kappa Alpha social fraternity, and the prestigious Order of the Golden Bear, whose members were chosen from among the senior men for notable contributions to the university. In sports, Douthit lettered in basketball, but baseball was his game. After a stint on the freshman team, he was a varsity outfielder for three years and hit over .400 as a senior.11

In the spring of 1923, coach Carl Zamloch, who had pitched for one season with Detroit, recommended his star senior to the Tigers. Douthit demurred, but he had also caught the eye of Professor Charles E. Chapman of the history department, a part-time scout for Branch Rickey, then manager of the Cardinals. Chapman convinced Rickey to offer Douthit a contract, and the ballplayer signed. “Ten days after removing my cap and gown, I was wearing a Cardinals uniform,” he recalled.12

His stay in St. Louis did not last long, as Douthit did not appear in any games for the Cardinals early in the 1923 season. He was sent to Fort Smith, Arkansas, of the Class C Western Association, where he hit .305 in 94 games and earned a September call-up. With the Cardinals well out of contention, Douthit made his major-league debut on September 14 at Sportsman’s Park against the Phillies, singling to center and scoring a run in the third inning as the Redbirds won 3-2.13

Douthit also spent most of the next two seasons in the minors: at St. Joseph, Missouri, of the Class A Western League in 1924 and at Milwaukee of the Class AA American Association in 1925. He hit well at both stops (.322 and .372, respectively), but because of a front office error in 1924 the Cardinals came close to losing his services to another major-league club.

The Cardinals had optioned Douthit to St. Joseph subject to recall but failed to exercise the option by the stipulated deadline. As a result, the outfielder’s contract became property of the cash-strapped minor league club, of which its business manager, Warren Giles, was part owner. Despite substantial offers from other major-league teams for the promising player, Giles allowed the Cardinals to recall Douthit at the standard rate. A grateful Branch Rickey later hired Giles to run the top St. Louis farm team. Giles went on to become general manager of the Cincinnati Reds and, later, president of the National League.14

When Douthit was called up in September 1925, James M. Gould of the St. Louis Star wrote that he “looks very much like the center-fielder the Cardinals are seeking.”15 Gould’s assessment was accurate. Douthit got the job in 1926 as St. Louis won its first pennant and went on to defeat the New York Yankees in the World Series. Player-manager Rogers Hornsby began the season with Heinie Mueller in center field but inserted Douthit into that spot on May 6 and kept him there. The Californian led the league in outfield putouts with 440, batted .308, scored 96 runs, drove in 52, and stole 23 bases. During the September pennant push, Douthit — newly installed in the leadoff position — hit .321 with a .390 on-base percentage.

The World Series went seven games, but Douthit was simply a spectator at the end. In the fourth inning of Game Four at Sportsman’s Park, he collided with left fielder Chick Hafey as they raced at full speed after Joe Dugan’s short fly to left center. Both were apparently knocked unconscious as the ball fell for a double, and the team doctor and trainer rushed on the field to revive them. Badly shaken up, they remained in the game; indeed, Douthit threw out Dugan at home on the next play.16 But the St. Louis center fielder had been injured seriously enough to miss the rest of the Series.17 For the four games he played, Douthit hit .267 with two doubles and a .389 on-base percentage.

From 1927 to 1930 Douthit had up-and-down seasons, as did the Cardinals. He had the worst year of his St. Louis career in 1927, hitting .262 as the Redbirds finished second. His best season came two years later, when the club struggled to a fourth-place finish: 206 hits, 128 runs, a .336 batting average, and a .416 on-base percentage. Douthit was rewarded with a three-year contract at $12,500 annually,18 and he topped things off by getting married, wedding Anna Jane Shelton of Kansas City in October. They would later have one child, a daughter.

The Cardinals won pennants in 1928 and 1930 but lost in the World Series both seasons, first to the Yankees in a sweep, then to the Philadelphia Athletics in six games. In 1928, Douthit started all 154 games in center field for manager Bill McKechnie and set the major-league record for outfield putouts with 547. Despite a late-season batting slump, he hit .295 with a .384 on-base percentage and scored 111 runs. In early September, he was named to Babe Ruth’s “All-America Team,” chosen annually by the Babe and a panel of baseball writers.19 Douthit’s slump continued in the World Series, where he was 1-for-11 in the first three games and, to make matters worse, made an uncharacteristic fielding blunder. In the fourth inning of Game Three at Sportsman’s Park, he turned a single into a two-run home run when he attempted a shoestring catch of Lou Gehrig’s sinking line drive.20 Douthit watched from the bench as the Yankees wrapped up the Series in the fourth game.

In 1930 the Cardinals captured the pennant under manager Gabby Street, the sixth St. Louis skipper in six years, with a furious stretch drive capped by a 21-4 record in September. Douthit had a solid season in which he batted .303, collected 201 hits to lead the team, and drove in a career-high 93 runs. Defensively, he led the league in outfield putouts for the third time, having also finished second twice. But he again slumped at the plate in the World Series, as George Earnshaw and Lefty Grove handcuffed the St. Louis lineup while winning two games each. Douthit managed only two hits—one a solo home run—in 24 at-bats. Both came in Game Three as the Cardinals won 5-0 at Sportsman’s Park, the home run at the expense of starter Rube Walberg.21

Following the Cardinals’ loss to the Athletics, speculation about Douthit’s future immediately emerged in the press,22 just as such rumors had surfaced after the Redbirds’ loss to the Yankees two years earlier.23 Owner Sam Breadon dismissed the speculation, but it resumed in the spring24 and continued after the 1931 season got underway25 when Douthit, off to a slow start at the plate, injured his hip.26 Substitute Pepper Martin took advantage of his playing time, batting .309 and driving in 13 runs.27 The talk picked up again when the June 15 trading deadline neared,28 even though Douthit had played well upon returning to the lineup after a sore arm benched Martin.29

After a hitting binge in three home games on June 13 and 14 boosted Douthit’s average to .331, the outfielder “probably rested easy, thinking he’d saved his job.”30 However, an agreement had already been reached to send him to the last-place Reds for former Cardinals outfielder Walter Roettger and cash, effective June 15. Douthit was stoic about the matter when talking with the press — “That’s baseball,” he said31 — but after Branch Rickey informed him of the trade “there were tears in his eyes when he said goodbye to office workers.”32

With baseball owners feeling the weight of the Great Depression,33 the pennywise Breadon was happy to shed Douthit’s contract, which called for an annual salary more than three times the $4,000 that Martin was making.34 And as a baseball matter, Rickey had recognized the impact of Douthit’s hip injury. The right-handed hitter was “flying out more often to center field than pulling the ball”35 and was “a step slower on the bases and in the outfield.”36

The Cardinals were in first place on June 15 and stayed there. Martin hit an even .300 for the season and starred in the World Series as St. Louis defeated the favored Philadelphia Athletics in seven games. Meanwhile, the Reds finished last in the league with a dismal 58-96 record. Douthit hit .262 in 95 games with Cincinnati to finish at .280 for the season with a .352 on-base percentage, 24 extra-base hits, and 45 RBIs.

The Reds were last again in 1932 with a 60-94 record. For his part, Douthit started 81 games, all but one in center field. Overall, he batted .243 in 96 games with 25 RBIs. Even with his subpar performance and the worsening Depression, he was no doubt stung by the contract that the Reds sent him for 1933: $6,000, less than half of his annual stipend under his three-year deal that had expired following the 1932 season.37 After a brief holdout, he signed and reported to camp in mid-March.38

Douthit appeared in only one game for the Reds in 1933, as a pinch-runner on April 25. He was claimed off waivers four days later by the Chicago Cubs to bolster their outfield in the absence of the injured Kiki Cuyler.39 Douthit played 18 games in the outfield for the Cubs and hit .225 in 27 games overall. On June 28 the Cubs, seeking more offense, sent him to Kansas City of the American Association as part of a deal for former Pittsburgh outfielder Jim Mosolf, who was hitting .387 for the Blues.40 Rather than play in the minors, he retired from baseball.41

At age 32, Douthit had accumulated a nice nest egg from the game, having earned $14,700 above his regular salary from 1926 to 1930: shares from the 1926, 1928, and 1930 World Series in which the Cardinals had appeared, plus smaller sums from the 1927 and 1929 fall classic that trickled down to the Redbird teams that had finished out of the running.42 Also, he had learned the insurance business in the offseason, working with his father, Lee Douthit, at Taylor Brothers in Oakland.43 Lee was the firm’s sole proprietor when Taylor came aboard as a full-time salesman in 1933.44 The former ballplayer was a partner two years later, and the firm had a new name: Douthit Insurance Agency.45 It remained in business until 1970.46

Douthit’s involvement with baseball after his major-league career ended was limited to speaking engagements and, as a younger man, alumni games at the University of California.47 In 1936, however, he briefly played for a semipro team in the California State League, apparently as a favor to its business manager: Charles Chapman, the professor and part-time scout who had recommended him to Branch Rickey.48

Douthit died in Fremont, California, on May 28, 1986, after a short illness.49 He is remembered in St. Louis as the first of a half-dozen outstanding center fielders to wear the birds on the bat, followed at the position by the all-stars Terry Moore, Curt Flood, Willie McGee, Ray Lankford, and Jim Edmonds.50 No less an authority than John McGraw considered the man known as the “Ball Hawk” the best center fielder of his day.51 But Douthit was hard-pressed to explain his defensive acumen. “I know there is something that tells me where a ball is going,” he once said. “I do not know what it is.”52

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Warren Corbett, Joel Barnhart, and SABR’s fact-checking teeam.

Notes

1 Baseball Reference, https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/range_factor_per_game_of_career.shtml. Range factor is determined by adding putouts and assists and then dividing the total by games played.

2 Baseball Almanac, http://www.baseball-almanac.com/rb_ofpu.shtml.

3 He was the club’s regular leadoff hitter from 1927 through 1930. His best year was 1929, when he had a .416 OBP and .887 OPS. Herman O. Krabbenhoft, Leadoff Batters of Major League Baseball (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 2006), 189.

4 Walter W. Smith, “Cards Trade Douthit for Roettger,” St. Louis Star, June 15, 1931, sec. 2, 1; J. Roy Stockton, “Cardinals Trade Douthit to Cincinnati for Roettger,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 15, 1931, 1B.

5 Harry T. Brundidge, “Too Bad, Girls, but Handsome Taylor Lee Douthit is Already Engaged,” St. Louis Star, May 28, 1929, 3.

6 Brundidge, “Too Bad, Girls, but Handsome Taylor Lee Douthit is Already Engaged.”; Harold Johnson, Who’s Who in Major League Baseball (Chicago: Buxton Publishing Co. 1933), 141; Husted’s Oakland, Alameda & Berkeley City Directory (Oakland, California: F.M. Husted 1903), 422; 1900 U.S. Census.

7 Taylor’s brother Roland, born in 1906, followed him at Oakland Tech and Cal and spent one season in the St. Louis farm system. An outfielder, Roland signed in June 1928 with the Cardinals’ Class B farm club in Danville, Illinois, but played in only a handful of games there. He divided the rest of the season between two Class D teams, batting .382 in 16 games at Laurel, Mississippi, and .297 in 32 games at Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. John B. Foster (ed.), Spalding’s Official Base Ball Guide (New York: American Sports Publishing Co., 1929), 294, 306. Because he played fewer than 15 games at Danville, his record there does not appear in the Guide; Spalding’s Official Base Ball Guide, 224-26. The Guide lists minor-league players only by last name, but Roland’s history is confirmed by newspaper reports. E.g., “Still on the Farm,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 8, 1928, 5C; “Caught on the Fly,” The Sporting News, July 19, 1928, 4.

8 Brundidge, “Too Bad, Girls, but Handsome Taylor Lee Douthit is Already Engaged.”

9 Brundidge, “Too Bad, Girls, but Handsome Taylor Lee Douthit is Already Engaged.”

10 “Oakland High Defeats Tech, 28-26,” Oakland Tribune, March 14, 1919, 16 (Douthit at center); “Three Records Smashed at Track Meet; Muller, Oakland Boy, Gathers Three Victories,” Oakland Tribune, May 19, 1919, 10 (Douthit second in pole vault, third in high jump); “Tech Seniors Shine in Comedy,” Oakland Tribune. May 25, 1919, 8A (“one of Tech’s athletes, Taylor Douthit, surprised and delighted the audience as Otto, the head waiter at the summer resort”).

11 Brundidge, “Too Bad, Girls, but Handsome Taylor Lee Douthit is Already Engaged”; 1923 Blue & Gold (Berkeley, California: University of California, 1922), 307 (yearbook for 1921-22 academic year); 1924 Blue & Gold (Berkeley, California: University of California, 1923), 366, 380, 458 (yearbook for 1922-23 academic year).

12 Brundidge, “Too Bad, Girls, but Handsome Taylor Lee Douthit is Already Engaged.”

13 James M. Gould, “Cards 3, Quakers 2, Final; Browns Idle, Cold Weather,” St. Louis Star, September 14, 1923, sec. 2, 1.

14 Gerald Holland, “Honest Warren Giles: He Always Strives To Please,” Sports Illustrated, June 10, 1963, 32; Frank Eck, “Football Helped Give Boss of Redlegs Start in Baseball,” Dayton Daily News, February 16, 1947, sec. 2, 2; Red Smith, “Warren Giles Over All Those Years,” New York Times, February 10, 1979, 16.

15 James M. Gould, “Hornsby Brings Batting Average Above .400 Mark,” St. Louis Star, September 28, 1925, 14.

16 “Fourth World Series Game, Play by Play and Pitch by Pitch,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 6, 1926, 1. In his syndicated column, Giants manager John McGraw, praised Douthit for having made “a perfect throw . . . while on the verge of physical collapse.” John J. McGraw, “Douthit’s Fighting Instinct,” Albany Evening News, February 12, 1927, 11.

17 The injury was variously described in the press. “Douthit, Hurt in Collision Will Be Idle Rest of Series,” New York Times, October 8, 1926, 18 (bruised ribs); “World Series Sidelights,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 8, 1926, 44 (“lame right arm”); James M. Gould, “Alexander’s Pitching Foe Still Unannounced,” St. Louis Star, October 9, 1926, 1 (sore back).

18 “Sid Keener’s Column,” St. Louis Star-Times, March 6, 1933, 14 (noting that Douthit’s “three-year contract, calling for $12,500 per [year], expired last fall,” i.e., after the 1932 season). See also Bob Broeg, “Douthit, The Ballhawk, Recalls Nine Hits, His Trade,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch (August 23, 1976), 2C (citing $12,500 figure in an article for which he interviewed Douthit). Other sources put his annual salary at $14,000, including a book co-authored by Gene Karst, the Cardinals publicity man in 1931. Gene Karst and Martin Jones, Jr., Who’s Who in Professional Baseball (New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1973), 257.

19 Babe Ruth, “Douthit, of Cardinals, Named on Babe Ruth’s All-America Team,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 9, 1928, 2S.

20 “Story of the Game Told Play-by-Play,” New York Times, October 8, 1928, 16; J. Roy Stockton, “Sherdel Must Win Tomorrow to Prevent Rout,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 8, 1928, 13. Douthit later explained that he was fooled because the line drive had come of Gehrig’s bat with little spin and, acting like a knuckle ball, suddenly broke away from him. “Sid Keener’s Column,” St. Louis Star, March 26, 1930, 16.

21 J. Roy Stockton, “Cards Defeat Athletics, 5-0; First Victory,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 4, 1930, 1B.

22 J. Roy Stockton, “Cardinals, Planning Infield Reinforcements, Consider Lindstrom,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch,” October 26, 1930, 5C (raising possibility of Douthit trade to Giants for Freddie Lindstrom); “Many Deals Contemplated to Strengthen Major League Clubs,” San Bernardino Sun, October 10, 1930, 19 (reporting possible trade of Douthit and Jim Bottomley to Cincinnati).

23 “Drastic Changes will be Made in Cardinal Team for 1929,” St. Louis Star, October 10, 1928, 16 (citing Douthit’s late season slump as reason for potential trade); J. Roy Stockton, “Extra Innings,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 18, 1928, 22 (Cardinals “undoubtedly” will consider trading Douthit).

24 A deal was reportedly in the works that would have sent Douthit and holdout Chick Hafey to the Phillies for Chuck Klein. Sid C. Keener, “‘Give Us Klein and Cardinals Will Win Pennant,’ Street Says,” St. Louis Star, March 31, 1931, 14; J. Roy Stockton, “Rickey Returns from Phillies’ Base without News on Trade,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 27, 1931, 2E.

25 “Sid Keener’s Column,” St. Louis Star, May 19, 1931, sec. 2, 4; J. Roy Stockton, “Deal Involving Orsatti or Douthit is Expected by Cardinal Players,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 11, 1931, 2B.

26 “Douthit Out for Week or 10 Days,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 24, 1931,1C; Walter W. Smith, “Cards Display Punch at Plate Despite Slump of Heavy Hitters,” St. Louis Star, April 25, 1931, 8; “Surrender of Hafey Adds to Cards Punch,” The Sporting News, April 30, 1931, 1.

27 Martin remained in the lineup after Douthit was cleared to return to action, as manager Gabby Street declined to break up “a winning combination.” Ray J. Gillespie, “Grimes to Face Pirates as Cards Open 18-Game Road Trip Today,” St. Louis Star, May 6, 1931, 16.

28 E.g., “Sam Breadon and Robins’ President Hold Conference,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 6, 1931, 1B; “Frederick Reported Offered for Douthit,” St. Louis Star, June 11, 1931, sec. 2, 1.

29 “Regains Stride with Cardinals,” St. Louis Star, May 25, 1931, sec. 2, 1 (Douthit “increased his batting average to .298 since returning to the Cardinals’ outfield” after Martin “developed a sore arm”); “Street Marshals Full Strength to Meet Raid of Eastern Rivals,” The Sporting News, June 4, 1931, 1 (while Martin “was suffering from a sore arm,” Douthit “played sensational ball in center field and showed signs of regaining his batting edge”).

30 Karst and Jones, Who’s Who in Professional Baseball. Douthit had nine consecutive hits over the three games: two singles, the last a bunt, in his last two plate appearances against Boston on June 13; three singles and a double in the first game of a doubleheader against Philadelphia on June 14; and two singles and a double in the second game. He was retired on an infield grounder in his final plate appearance, leaving him one hit short of the National League record for consecutive hits. Smith, “Cards Trade Douthit for Roettger”; Batting Streak Records, http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/ rb_bstrk.shtml.

31 Stockton, “Cardinals Trade Douthit to Cincinnati for Roettger.”

32 Karst and Jones, Who’s Who in Professional Baseball.

33 A few months after the trade, at the winter meetings following season, the owners voted to trim rosters from 25 players to 23 for 1932 and to reduce the umpiring staffs in each league. Charles C. Alexander, Breaking the Slump: Baseball in the Depression Era (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002), 49.

34 Thomas Barthel, Pepper Martin: A Baseball Biography (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. 2003), 43.

35 Bob Broeg, “Douthit Left Rickey with Red Face in ’31,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 30, 1986, 4D.

36 Broeg, “Douthit, The Ballhawk, Recalls Nine Hits, His Trade.”

37 “Sid Keener’s Column,” St. Louis Star-Times, March 6, 1933, 14.

38 “Pitcher Henry is Remaining Holdout in Ranks of Reds,” Dayton Herald, March 20, 1933, 13.

39 “Cubs Purchase Taylor Douthit from Cincinnati,” Chicago Tribune, April 30, 1933, sec. 2, 2; “Douthit Sold; Waiver Price Paid by Cubs,” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 30, 1933, 41.

40 “Cubs Purchase Outfielder for 2 Men, Cash,” Chicago Tribune, June 30, 1933, 29; “Association’s 1933 Averages,” Minneapolis Star, December 25, 1933, 12. The Cubs also agreed to pay an unspecified amount of cash and to send the Blues Mike Kreevich, a minor-league outfielder with Albany, at the end of the season.

41 “Douthit is to Retire,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 4, 1933, 25; “Douthit Announces Retirement from Baseball at Once,” San Francisco Examiner, July 4, 1933, 17.

42 “Sid Keener’s Column,” St. Louis Star, February 2, 1931, 16.

43 Brundidge, “Too Bad, Girls, but Handsome Taylor Lee Douthit is Already Engaged.”

44 Polk’s Oakland City Directory (San Francisco, California: R.L. Polk & Co., 1933), 270, 731.

45 Polk’s Oakland City Directory (San Francisco, California: R.L. Polk & Co., 1935), 278.

46 Taylor Douthit’s younger brother Roland joined the firm after working several years for Travelers Insurance Company in Stockton, and the brothers continued to run the business after their father retired. The firm was sold in 1970 to another family-owned company, now known as CF&P Insurance Brokers. https://www.cfpinsurance.com/about-us/.

47 “U.C. Tossers Meet Alumni,” Oakland Tribune, February 5, 1936, 12; “Douthit, Chapman Speak Tomorrow,” Oakland Tribune, May 6, 1937, 31; “Former Big Leaguer to Address Legion,” Oakland Tribune, April 22, 1940, 4; “Bear Nine in 1944 Debut,” San Francisco Examiner, March 24, 1944, 16.

48 Roger Williams, “Blues Set for Revamped Orinda Club,” San Mateo Times, June 6, 1936, 9; Roger Williams, “Blues Win First Half Title,” San Mateo Times, June 8, 1936, 9.

49 “Taylor Douthit,” New York Times, June 1, 1986, 36; “Obituaries: Taylor Douthit,” The Sporting News, June 16, 1986, 51.

50 Remarkably, these six players started 45.4 percent of the Cardinals’ regular-season games at the position from 1924 through 2007. Derrick Goold, “Center Casting,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 28, 2016, C8. The percentage increases to 46.1 if one excludes 1924 and 1925, when Douthit spent substantial time in the minors and started only 36 games in center field in for the Cardinals.

51 “McGraw has been quoted as saying that Douthit is the best center fielder in the business.” Stockton, “Cardinals, Planning Infield Reinforcements, Consider Lindstrom.”

52 Brundidge, “Too Bad, Girls, but Handsome Taylor Lee Douthit is Already Engaged.”