Coveleski, Stanley A.
[Stanislaus Kowalewski]
Baseball
b. July 13, 1889, Shamokin, PA
d. March 20, 1984
Because he signed with the Philadelphia Athletics, who had an outstanding pitching staff, Coveleski was trapped in the minors for a number of seasons, though he did pitch briefly for Philadelphia in 1912.
Coveleski developed a spitball, which was then legal, while pitching in the Pacific Coast League in 1915. He joined the Cleveland Indians the following season and won 20 or more games four years in a row, from 1918 through 1921, leading the AL in shutouts with 9 in 1917 and in strikeouts with 133 in 1920, when Cleveland won the pennant. Coveleski won three games, giving up just two earned runs, as the Indians beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series, five games to two.
Despite a league-leading ERA of 2.76 in 1923, Coveleski was only 13-14. After going 15-16 the following season, he was traded to the Washington Senators. He had an outstanding year with them, leading the league in winning percentage with a 20-5 record and in ERA at 2.84. However, he lost two games in the World Series, which was won by Pittsburgh.
Coveleski went 14-11 in 1926 and was released by the Senators early in 1927. He returned briefly to the major leagues with the New York Yankees in 1928, then played semi-pro baseball for several years.