Ferek dominated on sandlots before signing with Pirates
The late Stan Ferek is yet another gem from the area蘑菇视频 rich baseball history. Ferek was an outstanding pitcher in sandlot baseball circles before signing a professional contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1941.
Ferek, a 1940 graduate from Uniontown High School, he played football for the Red Raiders. Possessing an assortment of pitches, including an outstanding curve ball, dominated the Fayette County Big Ten League. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound lefthander posted a record of 27-1 pitching for Keister in 1941. He received several offers from big league clubs, including the Pirates and the Detroit Tigers.
鈥淚 appreciated the opportunity,鈥� the tall southpaw said at the time. 鈥淚 also appreciate the efforts of Frank Bendo, Walt McLaughlin, Tommy Clark and others.
Bendo, the manager of the Keister club, 鈥渨ho made a pitcher out of me,鈥� as Ferek explained it. McLaughlin was the mine foreman where Ferek worked at Nemacolin, and Clark was the manager of the Nemacolin County team.
Before he joined the Pirates farm system Ferek was given the opportunity to pitch for Lambert against the legendary Negro League Homestead Grays under the lights at South Union Township Stadium.
Ferek had a rough outing, as the Grays tagged him for five runs in a 14-4 victory.
The Keister team and Nemacolin were involved in a nasty battle for his services in the Big Ten League. The issue was hotly contested, but proved to be a lot of wasted effort when Ferek signed a contract with the Pirates.
Ferek started his minor league career in 1942 at Oil City, a Pirates affiliate in the Pennsylvania State Association. He posted an 8-7 record at Class D with an ERA of 4.03. He was scheduled to report to Hutchinson, Kansas, in 1942, but he joined the Marine Corps and served four years seeing action in the South Pacific at Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. He did find some time to play baseball in the Marines.
When he left the Marines in 1946 Ferek rejoined the Pirates minor league system and pitched at Class B Selma and Class A Albany during the 1946 season. He went 3-2 at Selma and 1-4 at Albany.
Ferek was assigned to Triple A Indianapolis for the 1947 campaign and went 4-5 with an ERA of 5.45. One of the highlights of his career also turned out to be a death knell for his career. Bob Malloy, Ferek and Bill Sweiger held the Bronx Bombers to six hits in a 3-2 loss in a exhibition game. That was the start of arm trouble for Ferek, as he developed a bone chip in his pitching elbow.
He went 4-5 at Indianapolis with an ERA of 4.26. Ferek was with the Pirates for the start of the 1948 season, but did not appear in a game. His arm was troubling him and he was sent to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to have bone chips removed from his left elbow. The operation was unsuccessful.
鈥淚 believe a nerve was severed,鈥� he offered years later. 鈥淚 had full use of my left arm and hand. But I had lost all sense of feeling. I could not feel a baseball when I gripped it.鈥�
In 1948, Ferek formed a lifelong friendship with his roommate at spring training Danny Murtaugh, who later was the longtime manager of the Pirates.
Ferek played for Double A New Orleans and Triple A Indianapolis in 1948. He was 3-2 at New Orleans and 0-2 at Indianapolis. He was going to be sent to Single A Albany in 1949, but decided to give up organized and asked Pirates general manager Branch Rickey for his release. Rickey refused. He remained Pirates property. He returned and lived in Carmichaels, and played first base for Nemacolin in the Big Ten.
Even though he pitched in the minor leagues, Ferek was always a pretty good hitter. In five minor league seasons, Ferek was 19-22 on the mound. Ferek was voted into the Big Ten Fayette County Sandlot Hall of Fame in 1971.
With the help of the Pirates and their longtime sponsor Atlantic Refining, Ferek opened an Atlantic service station in Carmichaels in 1951. Ferek stayed close to baseball, coaching the Carmichaels American Legion team from 1961 to 1966.
Ferek married the former Blanche Wozniak, of Nemacolin, in 1947, and had four children: Stan, who is deceased, Ron, Terry and Linda.
Ferek died on Dec. 30, 1977.
George Von Benko蘑菇视频 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Monday editions of the 蘑菇视频. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.