Coveleski was born as the fourth of five ball-playing brothers in the coal-mining community of Shamokin, Pennsylvania. His oldest brother Jacob died while serving in the Spanish–American War, and his other brothers Frank and John played baseball as well, but never reached the major leagues. His younger brother Stan Coveleski went on become a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.\n', '

Coveleski began his career with the Phillies in 1907. Over a span of five days at the end of the 1908 season, he beat the New York Giants three times, which enabled the Chicago Cubs to catch the first-place Giants in the NL standings and force a replay of the "Merkle\'s Boner" game. Thereafter, Coveleski was called "The Giant Killer". Traded to the Reds after the 1909 season, Coveleski had a disappointing 1910 season, including a game in which he walked sixteen batters, and was out of the Major Leagues for three seasons.\n', '

That year A. H. "Rick" Woodward, owner of the Southern Association\'s Birmingham Barons, bought Coveleski\'s contract from the Reds for $1,000, putting him on the team that be showcased in his brand-new steel-and-concrete Rickwood Field stadium. Coveleski got the start on the park\'s August 18, 1910 opening day, earning a no-decision in a 3-2 victory against the Montgomey Climbers in front of 10,000 fans. He ended up pitching two no-hitters for the Barons (though he lost one in extra innings), and won 21 games, including eleven straight decisions, to end the season with a 1.55 ERA. His final appearance for Birmingham was a 1-0 shutout against the league-champion New Orleans Pelicans in which he held their star slugger Shoeless Joe Jackson hitless in four appearances.\n', '

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