Wes Covington

John Wesley Covington (March 27, 1932 – July 4, 2011) was an American professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1956 through 1966 for the Milwaukee Braves, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He stood 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), weighing 205 pounds (93 kg; 14.6 st). Covington batted left-handed and threw right-handed.[1]

Wes Covington
Left fielder
Born: (1932-03-27)March 27, 1932
Laurinburg, North Carolina
Died: July 4, 2011(2011-07-04) (aged 79)
Edmonton, Alberta
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 19, 1956, for the Milwaukee Braves
Last MLB appearance
October 2, 1966, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
Batting average.279
Home runs131
Runs batted in499
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Baseball career

Born in Laurinburg, North Carolina, Covington attended Laurinburg High School then transferred and graduated from Hillside High School in Durham, where he was a football star. He didn't begin playing baseball until 1950 but his skills caught the eye of a scout for the Boston Braves. Covington was offered a contract and assigned to the Class C Eau Claire Bears in 1952. After working his way up the minor league ladder, he was a call-up who sparked the 1957 Braves down the stretch and helped them to win the World Series.[2]

Covington hit .284, with 21 home runs, and drove in 65 runs, in just 96 games over the second half of the 1957 season. His inspired play continued in the Series against the New York Yankees, highlighted by two defensive plays that preserved wins for Lew Burdette.[1]

In an 11-year career, Covington was a .279 hitter, with 131 homers, and 499 runs batted in, a .337 on-base percentage, and a .466 slugging percentage, in 1,075 games. His best season came in 1958, when he posted career numbers in average (.330), home runs (24), and RBI (74).[1]

Covington was also one of a handful of players in MLB history to have played for four teams in one season (1961), having appeared for the Braves, White Sox, Athletics, and Phillies, that year.

Retirement

Following his baseball career, Covington moved to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. For a time, he operated a sporting goods business. Covington contracted cancer, dying in Edmonton on July 4, 2011, at the age of 79.[2]

References
  1. "Wes Covington Stats". baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  2. "Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel – Wes Covington sparked '57 Braves".
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