After attending
Oklahoma State University, Stanka spent most of his career in the
minor leagues, making his Major League debut with the White Sox in at age 28. His big-league career consisted of only two appearances that year. In his first MLB game, on September 2 against the
Detroit Tigers, Stanka entered the game in
relief of
starting pitcher Barry Latman in the fifth
inning at
Comiskey Park with Chicago trailing 3–0. He retired the Tigers without further damage. Then, in their half of the fifth, the White Sox exploded for 11
runs, with Stanka contributing to the rally with a
single in his second big-league
at bat. He went on to pitch 3 innings of one-
hit, one-run relief and was credited with the
win in an 11–4 White Sox triumph. Stanka pitched in only one more contest that month, a two-inning relief stint against the
Cleveland Indians, on September 5. The White Sox and Indians were then embroiled in a
pennant race that ultimately delivered Chicago its first
American League pennant since . Stanka did not appear in the
1959 World Series, as the
Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the White Sox in 6 games. In two
games and 5 MLB
innings pitched, Stanka allowed two hits, two
earned runs and four
bases on balls; he
struck out three. His career 1–0
win–loss record was accompanied by a 3.38
earned run average. He signed with the
Nankai Hawks (now the
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks) during the 1959 off-season. He was one of the first players to be signed from the Triple-A class of the minor leagues, and the team calculated that he should be able to win over 15 games in the
Pacific League. White Sox owner
Bill Veeck let him leave for Nankai on the condition that the Hawks would loan their ace,
Tadashi Sugiura, to the White Sox if the Hawks were either out of or locked up the Pacific League pennant race by September . This never came to fruition, as the Hawks would battle the
Daimai Orions to the end of the season, eventually finishing 2nd to the Orions by only four games. Stanka entered the starting rotation in his first year, and marked a 17–12 record in his first year, leading the league with 103 walks allowed. He played his best season in 1964, winning 26 games, becoming the first player of non-Japanese descent to win
Pacific League MVP, and the first to do so in Japan as a whole since
Bucky Harris won it with the
Korakuen Eagles in the fall of 1937. He then pitched shutouts in Games 1, 6, and 7 of the
1964 Japan Series against the
Hanshin Tigers to win the Japan Series MVP award as well. He continued to pitch for the Hawks in 1965, but left the team after his eldest son died in a tragic accident. He played for the
Taiyo Whales in 1966 before retiring. He is tied with
Gene Bacque for the most wins among American players in Japan, going 100–72 during his seven-year career in Japan. Stanka appeared as himself on the January 1, 1962 episode of the game show
To Tell The Truth. Stanka died on October 15, 2018. == See also ==