“Bill Coughlin successfully pulled off the delayed steal in the seventh, catching Cleveland napping.” Detroit Free Press, April 26, 1906, p10
“In Detroit’s next time at bat, Coughlin, after reaching first base, pulled off the delayed steal. He waited till Beulow had the ball from Joss, having himself taken a long lead off first. Lajoie, who takes all throws to second, seeing that Coughlin had not started to steal, relaxed and spat on his glove, gazing at his feet. Then Coughlin started his sprint.” Detroit Times, April 26, 1906, p7
Previous earliest use (Dickson Baseball Dictionary, 3rd edition, 2009):
1ST USE. 1906. H.G. Merrill (The Sporting News, Dec. 22, 1906; Peter Morris) wrote that Kid Elberfeld was “said to have developed the ‘delayed steal’ last year” but claimed that a minor leaguer named Bill O’Hara had employed the play regularly in 1905.
