Stan Coveleski - Early Years

Early Years

Stanislaus Anthony Kowalewski was the youngest of five baseball-playing brothers in the coal-mining community of Shamokin, Pennsylvania. His oldest brother Jacob died serving in the Spanish–American War; his other brothers Frank and John also played baseball, but never reached the major leagues. His older brother, Harry Coveleski, later won 20 games in a season on three occasions during his 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. In return for 72 hours of labor per week, Coveleski received $3.75, or about five cents an hour. "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". Coveleski was rarely able to play baseball as a child due to his work schedule.

Nevertheless, he worked on his pitching skills during the evenings, when he threw stones at a tin can placed 50 feet away. 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". His baseball career in Shamokin was short-lived; after five games, Coveleski relocated to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.