An 1861 Cleveland city directory lists William Thake as a "malster" (i.e., a brewery worker) living at 63 Bolivar Road.

The addresses have been renumbered since then, but Bolivar Road still exists: it is a side street located adjacent to Progressive Field, the home of Major League Baseball's Cleveland Guardians.

[1] [2] Four of his fellow fire fighters were expelled from the department, but Thake kept his job and played at least two games in the summer of 1867 for Hose 6's baseball team.

[7] Thake's only appearance at a position other than left field came on August 22, when he played second base during part of a 15–4 loss to the New York Mutuals.

[3] The Atlantics postponed their game against the Brooklyn Eckfords on September 2, and both teams flew flags at half mast at their baseball fields.

On September 10, Thake's funeral was held at his mother's home, following which he was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

[4] In The Cooperstown Chronicles (2014), Frank Russo writes, "His .295 lifetime batting average suggests that he might have had a promising career ahead of him.