Doak joined St. Louis at age 22 and spent over 11 years as a dependable pitcher with generally lackluster Cardinal teams. In his sophomore 1914 season, he went 20-6 with a NL-low 1.72 ERA, boosting the Cards to their best record up to that time. The spitballer’s 20 wins in 1920 weren’t enough to keep St. Louis from finishing fifth. The next year, Doak’s .714 winning percentage (15-6) and 2.59 ERA led all NL hurlers. When Doak followed with losing seasons in 1922-23, Branch Rickey dealt the veteran to Brooklyn in mid-1924. Doak went 11-5 the remainder of that campaign, then voluntarily retired. He returned in 1927, and posted an 11-8 record with the Dodgers before fading and ending his career back with St. Louis in 1929. Doak remains among the Cardinals’ top ten all-time in eight pitching categories, with his 32 shutouts ranking second only to Bob Gibson‘s 56.
