Covey - by Harry J Deitz (Paperback)

About the Book

Stanley Coveleski's life was a story of triumph and tragedy. By 1920, he won three games in the World Series and went on to become a Hall of Fame pitcher.

Book Synopsis

Stanley Coveleski's life was a story of triumph and tragedy.

He was born in the Coal Region town of Shamokin, PA in 1889, the eighth child of Polish immigrants, and went to work as a breaker boy when he was twelve. But he escaped the 12-hour work days in the mines by throwing stones at a can tied to a tree-his own crash course in how to pitch a baseball.

Years later, he was one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball.

In a season marked by personal and team tragedy-the death of his wife and his teammate Ray Chapman, who is the only player to die as a result of being hit by a pitch-Covey pitched three complete-game victories in the Cleveland Indians' 1920 World Series championship.

Covey, one of 17 pitchers still allowed to throw a spitball after it being outlawed before the 1921 season, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.

Check out this interview about the book...

Review Quotes

In the early twentieth century, Major League baseball was known for dirty uniforms, fans standing behind ropes in the outfield, and pitchers who spit on the ball before delivering. Of all those who threw the wet ball effectively, Stan Coveleski was at the top of the list. A quiet, unassuming man, Coveleski escaped the arduous life of a Pennsylvania coal miner to excel as a pitcher and eventually to his place in the Hall of Fame.

Author Harry Deitz brings the man to life in a gripping biography. Deitz covers all the triumphs and tragedies of a man once so shy that he ate hot dogs from a street vendor rather than walk through the doors of a restaurant. Despite being bashful, Coveleski managed to take the mound in front of thousands of people and face the likes of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb, while winning three World Series starts and over 200 career games. This biography will be of great interest to baseball fans, particularly those who love the history of the game.

-Scott Longert is an avid baseball historian who lives in the Cleveland area. His books include Addie Joss: King of the Pitchers; The Best They Could Be: How the Cleveland Indians Became the Kings of Baseball 1916-1920; and Bad Boys, Bad Times, The Cleveland Indians and Baseball in the Prewar years 1937-1941.