Stanley Anthony Coveleski (born Stanislaus Kowalewski, July 13, 1889 – March 20, 1984) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for four American League (AL) teams between and , primarily the Cleveland Indians. The star of the Indians pitching staff, he won over 20 games each year from the war-shortened 1918 season through 1921, leading the AL in shutouts twice and in strikeouts and earned run average (ERA) once each during his nine years with the club. The star of the 1920 World Series, he led the Indians to their first title with three complete-game victories, including a 3–0 shutout in the Game 7 finale. Traded to the Washington Senators after the 1924 season, he helped that club to its second AL pennant in a row with 20 victories against only 5 losses, including a 13-game winning streak, while again leading the league in ERA.

Coveleski followed in the footsteps of his brother Harry as a major league pitcher. But after making his debut with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1912, he was sidetracked by three more seasons in the minor leagues before joining the Indians in 1916, and won only 13 major league games before turning 27. Coveleski specialized in throwing the spitball, where the pitcher alters the ball with a foreign substance such as chewing tobacco. It was legal when his career began but prohibited in 1920, with Coveleski being one of 17 pitchers permitted to continue throwing the pitch. In 450 career games, Coveleski pitched 3,082 innings and posted a record of 215–142, with 224 complete games, 38 shutouts, and a 2.89 ERA. He set Cleveland records of 172 wins, innings and 305 starts, which were later broken by Mel Harder and Willis Hudlin. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.

Early years

Stanislaus Anthony Kowalewski was born on July 13, 1889, in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, Stanley was the youngest of five baseball-playing brothers; his oldest brother Jacob died serving in the Spanish–American War (1898). In addition to his older brother Harry, who pitched in the major leagues between 1907 and 1918, their other brothers Frank and John also played professional baseball, but only in the minor leagues. Harry won 20 games in a season on three occasions during his 14-year major league career.

Like many his age in the Shamokin area, Coveleski began work as a "breaker boy" at a local colliery at the age of 12. "There was nothing strange in those days about a twelve-year-old Polish kid working in the mines for 72 hours a week at a nickel an hour", he later recalled. "What was strange is that I ever got out of there". When he was 18 years old, Coveleski's abilities caught the attention of the local semi-professional ball club, which invited him to pitch for them. "When it came to throwing a baseball, why it was easy to pitch", Coveleski recalled. "After all, the plate's a lot bigger than a tin can to throw at". In 272 innings of work his first season, Coveleski had a 23–11 win–loss record with an earned run average of 1.95. He pitched two more seasons for Lancaster, earning a record of 53–38 in 109 appearances through three seasons. After the season ended, Mack felt that Coveleski needed more seasoning, and sent him to the Spokane Indians of the Northwestern League. After the 1914 season, the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League wanted Coveleski, and traded five players to Spokane to acquire him. Coveleski spent his time in Portland learning to throw the spitball; originally using chewing tobacco, he later used alum. He was scheduled to pitch in the first week of the season against his brother Harry, but the matchup never took place at Harry's behest. He finished the season with a 15–13 record and a 3.41 ERA in 45 games, 27 of them starts.

Coveleski's status as the ace of the staff was demonstrated when he was named the starter for Opening Day of the 1917 season; he beat the Detroit Tigers 6–4 on April 11. He improved statistically during the 1917 season, winning 19 games and losing 14 with an ERA of 1.81 and a career-high 133 strikeouts. Coveleski continued to improve during the 1918 season, which was ended on September 2 due to a preseason agreement among owners to shortened season due to World War I. His outings that year included 2–1 13-inning road loss to Philadelphia on May 15, in which he had a career-high ten strikeouts, and a 19-inning complete game on May 24 in New York as the Indians won 3–2. He finished the season with a 22–13 record, a 1.82 ERA, and 311 innings pitched in 38 games, 33 of them starts; his wins and ERA were both second in the American League to Walter Johnson. Covaleski finished the 1920 regular season with 24 wins, 14 losses, a 2.49 ERA, and 133 strikeouts; he led the AL in strikeouts and finished second in ERA to Bob Shawkey. Four days later, he pitched Game 4, again allowing one run and five hits in a 5–1 win. Coveleski returned to the Indians in 1921, and throughout the season, the Indians battled the Yankees for first in the American League. On September 26, the two teams faced off, but Coveleski failed to make it past the third inning; the Yankees won 8–7 to ensure they won the pennant. Coveleski pitched 315 innings in 1921, matching his career high from the year before, and had a 23–13 record and a 3.37 ERA. it was his last game of the season. He finished the year with a 17–14 record, the first time since 1917 he did not have 20 wins, and a 3.32 ERA. However, he won less frequently as the season wore on, losing three straight games in mid-August. His last game came on August 15, with over a month left in the season. On June 16 he broke Addie Joss' club record of 160 wins with a 2–1 complete-game win over the Yankees, with the winning run scoring with two out in the bottom of the ninth on second baseman Ernie Johnson's error, with Coveleski batting; he had tied Joss' record two days earlier with a relief win in an 11-inning victory over the Boston Red Sox. In his last appearance on September 22, he gave up a career-high ten runs in a 10–4 loss to the Yankees, ending the season with a 15–16 record and a 4.04 ERA. During his first season in Washington, Coveleski bounced back from his 1924 season, and by mid-July, critics regarded his success as the biggest surprise in baseball; Cleveland had considered him to be past his best. From May 9 to July 26 he compiled thirteen consecutive victories, ten of them complete games. He won twenty games and lost five that year, and his ERA of 2.84 led the AL. Coveleski pitched two games in the World Series. In Game 2, he faced Vic Aldridge in a pitcher's duel; the teams were tied at one apiece in the eighth inning, but a two-run home run by the Pirates' Kiki Cuyler led to a 3–2 loss. Aldridge and Coveleski faced off again in Game 5, but Coveleski allowed four runs before being pulled with one out in the seventh inning, leading to a 6–3 Pirates win. The Senators lost the series in seven games, and he finished with a 3.77 ERA, five walks, three strikeouts, and two of the Senators' four losses. Coveleski finished the season with 14 wins, 11 losses, 3 shutouts, and a 3.12 ERA in 36 games. However, his performance declined due to "a chronically sore arm", which limited his playing time that season. Due to his sore arm, the Senators released him unconditionally on June 17, 1927. He retired from the game later that year. After his playing career ended, he dropped the "e" at the end of his name, as he never corrected anyone if his last name was incorrectly spelled. In 1969, Coveleski was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans' Committee alongside 1920s pitcher Waite Hoyt. Of his introduction into the Hall, he said, "I figured I'd make it sooner or later, and I just kept hoping each year would be the one." In 1984, the minor league baseball stadium in South Bend, Indiana, was named in his honor. In 2001, baseball writer Bill James ranked Coveleski 58th among the all-time greatest major league pitchers.

See also

  • List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders
  • List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders
  • List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders

Notes

References

  • Interview with Stanley Coveleski conducted by Eugene Murdock on May 13, 1974, in South Bend, Indiana: Part 1, Part 2
  • National Polish-American Sports HOf profile