Bill Doak’s Three ‘No-Hitters’
This article was written by Stephen D. Boren
This article was published in 2002 Baseball Research Journal
There have been only a handful of major league pitchers who threw three no-hitters: Larry Corcoran, Cy Young, Bob Feller, Sandy Koufax, and Nolan Ryan. Similarly, only Johnny Vander Meer, Allie Reynolds, Virgil Trucks, Jim Maloney, and Nolan Ryan threw two nine-inning no-hitters in a single sea son. Bill Doak almost joined these two elite circles. Unfortunately, his fielding stupidity cost him three no-hitters and caused him to become a forgotten player. Ironically, he revolutionized baseball fielding with his development of the modern fielding glove.
William Leopold Doak was born January 28, 1891, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was one of the last legal spitball throwers. His professional career began with Wheeling of the Central League (Class B) in 1910, where he led the league in losses and runs and remained with them in 1911. In 1912 he pitched with Akron of the Central League, Columbus of the American Association and then broke in with the Cincinnati Redlegs on September 1, 1912, as a 21-year old pitcher. Unfortunately, after pitching just two innings, he was relieved. He was with Akron a.gain in 1913 and returned to the majors with the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1914 he was a 20-game winner,1 led the National League in ERA, and pitched seven shutouts. He won 20 games again in 1920. In 1921 he led the league in ERA and won-loss percentage. His overall record was a respectable 170-157 with a 2.98 ERA. Considering he was pitching for bad to mediocre Cardinal teams, this record is quite remarkable. Of note, he pitched 32 shutouts for the Cardinals from 1913 through 1923. Dizzy Dean pitched but 26, and only 23 were with the Cardinals.
Bill’s first “no-hitter” occurred August 10, 1920, against the Philadelphia Phillies in Baker Bowl. The Phillies were far removed from their 1915 pennant, and would finish in the cellar again that season.
Winning 3-0 going into the bottom of the seventh, Doak walked Bevo LeBourveau. Catcher Verne Clemons threw out Johnny Rawlings, as the runner advanced to second. Then Cy Williams hit a grounder between Rogers Hornsby at second base and Jack Fournier at first base. Fournier dove for the ball but missed it. Fortunately, Hornsby was able to field it. Unfortunately, Doak had remained on the pitcher’s mound and failed to cover the bag. Thus, Hornsby had no one to throw to at first base. Williams got a cheap hit, and LeBourveau advanced to third, where he subsequently scored on Irish Meusel’s sacrifice fly. There were to be no more hits off Doak. His failure to cover first base cost him the no-hitter, as well as another shutout.
Bill was a slow learner. On May 11, 1922, at Sportsman’s Park, Bill Doak faced Shufflin’ Phil Douglas and the New York Giants. The Giants would go on to win the pennant by seven games and have a team batting average of.305 that season. The leadoff batter was Dave Bancroft, who would bat .321 that year. He bunted down the first-base line. Neither Jack Fournier nor Bill Doak was there to field the ball. Thus, Bancroft had a leadoff single, which would be the only hit for the Giants. Thanks to a pair of runs in the eighth inning, the Cardinals won 2-0. Douglas would go 11-4 with a 2.63 ERA that year, but was permanently banned from baseball that August after offering to throw games.
Apparently, Bill Doak had not learned his lesson from two years before. Had he fielded the bunt, he would have had a no-hitter. Instead, he had his second one-hitter.
On July 13, 1922, at Sportsman’s Park, Doak had a third chance for a no-hitter. He was facing the Philadelphia Phillies again. Although they would finish seventh for a change, they had a team batting average of .282 that year, and led the majors with 116 home runs. John Singleton pitched a great game for the Phillies. He walked two men and gave up only six hits. The two pitchers matched shutout ball for 4 1/2 innings. Then in the bottom of the fifth, a double by Jack Fournier, a wild pitch, and a bloop single gave the Cardinals a run.
Bill Doak carried the 1-0 lead into the seventh without giving up a hit. Then Curt Walker, a .337 hitter that year, led off with a routine grounder between first and second base. Doak apparently thought that Rogers Hornsby at second would field it. However, Jack Fournier, the first baseman, grabbed it. Unfortunately, Bill Doak again was standing on the mound, watching the play. Like Hornsby in 1920, Fournier had no one to throw the ball to. That would be the only hit for the Phillies.
Singleton ended up losing the game 1-0. He would go 1-10 with a 5.90 ERA that year, which was his only major league season. His one victory was a shutout.
Thus, for the third time in three years, Bill Doak lost a no-hitter because he failed to field his position. Twice were because he failed to cover first base on grounders to infielders. The third time he lost the no hitter because he failed to field a bunt.
Doak never threw another one-hitter again. On June 13, 1924, he was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers for pitcher Leo Dickerman (19-24, 3.95 ERA over three seasons)2 and was 11-5 for the Dodgers that year.
He retired to Florida to enter the real estate business for two years. He spurned a lucrative offer to return to baseball ($15,000) and stayed out of the majors until 1927. After playing for the Dodgers in 1927 and 1928, he was released. He went 1-2 for the 1929 Cardinals.
Doak’s role in the development of the modern base ball glove has been long neglected by baseball historians. In 1919 he visited the Rawlings Sporting Goods Company in St. Louis and explained his idea for a novel type of baseball glove. In 1920 Rawlings produced the first “Bill Doak model” glove. This had a multi-thong web laced between the first finger and thumb, which created for the first time a natural pocket. No longer was a glove a mere protective device for a player, but now was a true fielding aid. The glove was so popular that Rawlings produced it until 1953.
Despite the use of his special glove, Doak was not a good fielder. The highest he ranked in National League pitchers’ fielding percentage was 14th, and averaged about 31st. His lifetime fielding average was a mediocre .960.
STEPHEN D. BOREN MD, MBA is a long-time contributor to SABR publications and is a practicing physician. He is the only person ever to be published in the Wall Street Journal, The New England Journal of Medicine, and Baseball Digest in a single year.
Notes
1. The Baseball Encyclopedia lists Doak as winning 20 1in 1914; Total Baseball and The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball by Neft & Cohen list him with 19 wins.
2. Total Baseball lists Dickerman at 19-27, 4.00 ERA.