\n', 'Anthracite Origins\n', 'Pawloski was the son of a Polish immigrant coal miner who viewed professional baseball as a way to escape the hard life of a miner. "Growing up in the coal region can\'t help but make you physically and mentally tough," Stan explained in a 2000 interview. "It wasn\'t an easy life. The coal companies owned everything - the mining operations, stores, homes and even the miners themselves. The 1940s were especially difficult because the mines were closing down and there wasn\'t enough work for my father. That\'s probably why he told me, \'No one\'s ever going to give you anything, son. You have to earn it.\' That stuck with me."\n', '

While Pawloski starred for Newport Township High School in football, basketball and baseball, he spent his summers playing shortstop in the Anthracite leagues. He began at age 14 for Wanamie. Two years later, his high school baseball coach invited him to play for the Glen Lyon Condors in the more reputable Wyoming Valley League. "I was the youngest player on those teams, so I never hung around for the keg tapping after the game," he chuckled. "Instead, the manager handed me my five bucks and I\'d head home feeling like a millionaire!"\n', '

In 1949, the 6\'1" teenager had to decide if he\'d accept a football scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh or sign with the Cleveland Indians, which had a minor league affiliate in nearby Wilkes-Barre. "I had more confidence in my baseball ability than anything else," he recalled. "So, the night of my high school graduation, I signed with the Indians for $4,500. Twenty-four hours later, I played my first professional game for the Stroudsburg Poconos of the North Atlantic League."\n', '

Return to Stan Pawloski Autograph Profile