Stan Coveleski
From BR Bullpen
Stanley Anthony Coveleski born Stanislaus Kowalewski
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 166 lb.
- Debut September 10, 1912
- Final Game August 3, 1928
- Born July 13, 1889 in Shamokin, PA USA
- Died March 20, 1984 in South Bend, IN USA
Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1969
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[edit] Biographical Information
Stan Coveleski won at least 20 games in five of his 14 seasons in the American League. During a career in which he pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics, the Cleveland Indians, the Washington Senators, and the New York Yankees, Coveleski posted a record of 214 victories and 141 losses. He led the American League in strikeouts in 1920, in games started in 1921, and in earned run average and winning percentage in 1925.
The prime of his career was spent with the Indians, for whom he was a major factor in a 1920 World Series championship. Coveleski was credited with three of the four victories over the Brooklyn Dodgers, yielding only two runs in the 27 innings he worked. One of his other major accomplishments was a 13-game winning streak for Washington in 1925, when he finished at 20-5.
Born in the coal-mining town of Shamokin, PA, he was the younger brother of pitcher Harry Coveleski and one of four professional players in the family. The Coveleskis agreed never to play against each other, and their managers always arranged for them not to have to. Determined to escape life in the coal mines, Stan Covelski signed his first professional contract with the Lancaster Red Roses, a minor league team managed by former outfielder Marty Hogan. In 1909, he helped that team secure its first championship in the Tri-State League.
Coveleski retired as a player in 1928, after a 5-1 season with the Yankees, and settled in South Bend, IN, where the minor league ballpark of the South Bend Silver Hawks of the Midwest League is named Coveleski Stadium in his honor.
"The pressure never lets up. Doesn't matter what you did yesterday. . . Lord, baseball is a worrying thing." - Stan Coveleski
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 2-time AL ERA Leader (1923 & 1925)
- AL Winning Percentage Leader (1925)
- AL Strikeouts Leader (1920)
- 2-time AL Shutouts Leader (1917 & 1923)
- 15 Wins Seasons: 9 (1916-1922, 1924 & 1925)
- 20 Wins Seasons: 5 (1919-1921 & 1925)
- 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 11 (1916-1926)
- 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 3 (1918, 1920 & 1921)
- Won a World Series with the Cleveland Indians in 1920
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1969
[edit] Further Reading
- Dave Anderson: "Harry and Stanley: The Coveleski Brother Act", The National Pastime, SABR, Number 20 (2000), pp. 39-41.
- Lawrence Ritter: The Glory of Their Times, The Macmillan Company, New York, NY, 1966, pp. 109-115.
- Steve Steinberg: "Spitballing to the Hall of Fame" in Mark Armour, ed.: Rain Check: Baseball in the Pacific Northwest, Society for American Baseball Research, Cleveland, OH, 2006, pp. 34-43.
