Stricklett is often credited with introducing the spitball to the major leagues, though it was his disciples, Jack Chesbro and Ed Walsh, who became Hall of Famers with it. He was a sore-armed minor leaguer in 1904 when he learned the pitch from its accidental discoverer, George Hildebrand. Stricklett approved the banning of the spitball years later, believing it was too dangerous and hard to control.
