Stanley Coveleskie

• Post by: mcalibrary
• December 14, 2023
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INDUCTEE

“It all started because I like to throw rocks at old tin cans instead of working in the mines. Practice at what I considered a game of my boyhood days paid off in success. I could hit the tin can blindfolded.”

Stanley Coveleskie worked 12 hours a day in the mines at Luke Fidler. He went to work in the mines as a boy 12 years old, working from 7:00 AM to 7 PM for $3.75 per week.

Coveleskie’s career started when he was 18 years old when he began playing with a semi-pro team in Shamokin. After that he was signed to a contract with Lancaster and as Coveleskie out it “…I was out of the coal mines.”

From 1909-1916 Coveleskie played mostly in the minor leagues with such teams as Lancaster of the Tri-State League, Spokane of the Northwest League and Portland of the Pacific Coast League. During this time, in 1912, Coveleskie played with Philadelphia where he appeared in 5 games compiling a 2-1 won-lost record.

During the 1909 season, Coveleskie’s first in the minor leagues, he won 23 games with Lancaster to lead the league in that category. In 1915, with Portland, he tied for the leadership by appearing, in, 64 games while compiling 17-7 won loss record.

In 1916 Coveleskie made his move into the major leagues with the Cleveland Indians, Playing for Cleveland from 1916-1924 Coveleskie appeared in 360 games, compiling 171-122 won lost record. During this period Coveleskie led the American League by giving up 286 hits in 1919; and in ERA hit a mark of 2.76 in 1923. He also led the league in strikeouts with 133 in 1920. In both 1917 and 1923 Coveleskie pitched the most shutouts to lead the league in this category. In 1925, he also won 13 straight games.

In 1920 the Cleveland Indians appeared in the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. This was to be Coveleskie’s greatest achievement