Overview

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...

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9781620060810

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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.

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"Harry J. Deitz Jr. worked in the newspaper business for 45 years as a photographer, sportswriter, sports editor, design editor, and editor. He retired in 2018 after 10 years as editor-in-chief of the Reading Eagle, Reading, Pa.In his weekly ""Editor's Notebook"" column, he wrote extensively about his family-parents, grandparents, three children and especially six grandchildren-and shared his personal story of his six years as the primary caregiver for his late wife during her battle with Parkinson's disease and cancer.He has served as president and board member of the Pennsylvania Newsmedia Association and the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors and has won numerous awards for his columns, sports writing and newspaper design work.In his spare time, he has hiked the entire Pennsylvania section of the Appalachian Trail and has read every book by novelist Ken Follett.Harry is a native of Shamokin, Pa., where he followed his father into newspaper work. He is the author of Covey: A Stone's Throw From a Coal Mine to the Hall of Fame, Our Father's Journey: A Path Out of Poverty, and Journal of a Caregiver: A Story of Love and Devotion."

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