After graduating high school in East St. Louis, Blake played in the farm system of the nearby St. Louis Cardinals before enlisting in the army. He returned to baseball after being wounded in the military service, pitching in the minors for five years before making his major league debut for the Cincinnati Reds. He pitched for them on and off for three years, then spent the next six years pitching for the Toronto Maple Leafs. His last major league appearance was a stint with the Athletics in 1957, and two years later his professional baseball career ended. After retirement he became a plumber, and died in 2009.\n', '

Born in St. Louis, Missouri to Edward and Katherine Blake, he attended Central Catholic High School in East St. Louis, where he was a baseball teammate of Hank Bauer, and graduated in 1943. Blake pitched batting practice for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 1943 World Series after his high school graduation, in what he considered to be the highlight of his professional career. He signed with the Cardinals in 1944 and spent the season with three different minor league teams: the Columbus Red Birds of the American Association, the Allentown Cardinals of the Interstate League and the Mobile Bears of the Southern Association.\n', '

After the 1944 season ended, Blake enlisted in the Army and fought with the 40th Infantry Division in the Pacific Theater of Operations. While in the Philippines, Blake was wounded, and was out of action for nine months as he recovered. As the 1946 season began, he rejoined the Cardinals, now fully recovered, and spent the season with the Columbus Cardinals. Blake started the season losing his first three starts, but then won 13 straight and finished the season with a 16 wins, eight losses, and a 3.51 earned run average. In February 1947, Blake was among a group of 92 Cardinals players invited to a dinner for Cardinals minor leaguers, where accusations in regards to Cardinals players being paid poorly were brought up and discussed. He spent the following season playing for both Columbus teams, playing 29 games in total and finishing the season with a combined 4.46 ERA. Before the 1948 season began, Blake was promoted to the Rochester Red Wings of the International League. He had a 7–6 record and a 3.88 ERA in 34 games, seven of them starts. In 1949, Blake spent most of the season playing for Rochester. On August 9, 1949 he was traded by the Cardinals to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Mike Schultz, ending his career with the Cardinals. Blake finished the season with the Syracuse Chiefs and finished the season with a combined 5–4 record and a 4.78 ERA.\n', '

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