Dave Dravecky is being inducted into the Curbstone Coaches Hall of Fame this spring, honored for his celebrated baseball career and inspiring comeback story. The Boardman native says his accomplishments trace back to growing up in the Mahoning Valley, playing sports at Boardman High and Youngstown State, and the faith and work ethic instilled by his family and inner circle.
Born on Valentine’s Day in 1956, Dravecky has long been considered one of the best all-around athletes to come out of the Mahoning Valley. He earned three letters each in basketball and baseball at Boardman, playing for head coach Alan Burns on Steel Valley Conference championship teams in 1971-72 and 1973-74, and pitching for the Spartans under head coach Tom Ferrara and Jack Jones, though a junior-year injury cost him that season.
After graduation, the late legendary YSU baseball coach Dom Rosselli recognized his talent while scouting Boardman and offered him a scholarship to pitch for the Penguins. Dravecky went on to a standout four-year career at Youngstown State from 1975-78, posting a 21-7 record while setting or tying six pitching records that still stand today. His 21 wins and 20 complete games remain second all-time in program history, and his five career shutouts – including four in 1976 alone, still a single-season program record – are tied for the mark. His career 1.85 ERA remains second-best in program history, and his 251 career strikeouts still rank fourth all-time.
In 1976, Dravecky set a Penguins record with a 0.51 ERA over 53.1 innings, a mark that has withstood 50 years of Youngstown State pitching since. He also tossed a no-hitter and two one-hitters during his time at YSU, all three coming against archrival Akron: a 7-0 no-hitter on May 17, 1977, and one-hitters on May 8, 1976 (a 1-0 win) and May 22, 1976, just 14 days apart. Under Rosselli, the Penguins posted an 81-46 record over his four seasons, with three 20-win campaigns, 22 shutouts and 70 complete games.
Dravecky’s baseball journey was only beginning. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 21st round (531st overall) of the 1978 MLB Draft and began his professional career in the Class A Western Carolina League. After three minor league seasons in Pittsburgh’s system, he was traded to San Diego in 1981, spent two seasons developing in the Padres’ system, and made his MLB debut on June 15, 1982, against the Dodgers. Over seven minor league seasons, he compiled a 45-23 record with a 3.34 ERA, 24 complete games and six shutouts.
Dravecky was named to the 1983 MLB All-Star Game and helped the Padres reach the 1984 World Series, where they fell to the Detroit Tigers in five games. He was traded to San Francisco on July 4, 1987, and helped the Giants capture the NL West title before losing to St. Louis in the NLCS, and started the Giants’ 1988 opening day game, a 5-1 loss to the Dodgers.
Shortly after that outing, Dravecky noticed stiffness in his pitching arm and was placed on the disabled list. A man of strong Christian faith, he was diagnosed with a desmoid tumor in his left arm, and on October 7 of that year underwent surgery to remove half the deltoid muscle in his arm and freeze his humerus bone in an effort to eliminate the cancerous cells.
By July 1989, Dravecky had returned to pitching in the minors, and on August 10 he made a highly publicized comeback to the majors, throwing eight innings against the Reds at Candlestick Park in a 4-3 win over manager Pete Rose. In his very next start, on August 15 against Montreal, he broke his arm on the mound throwing a pitch to Tim Raines. He underwent further arm surgeries in January and May of 1990 after his cancer returned, and on June 18, 1991, less than two years after his comeback, his left arm and shoulder were amputated. He finished his major league career with a 64-57 record, a 3.13 ERA, and 29 complete games and shutouts.
Dravecky has said the ordeal set him and his wife, Jan, on a new path in life: helping others facing cancer, amputation or depression through their ministry, known as “Endurance with Jan and Dave Dravecky,” which has offered support to people from all walks of life for 33 years. He has written two books chronicling his battle and comeback, Comeback (1990, with Tim Stafford) and When You Can’t Come Back (1992, with Jan Dravecky and Ken Gire). In 2021, indie-folk artist Cousin Wolf released a song titled “Dave Dravecky” on the album Nine Innings.
Dave and his wife of 47 years, Jan, are the parents of two children, daughter Tiffany (Adam) Vartanyan and son Jonathan (Joy), and have four grandchildren: Francesca and Georgia Vartanyan, and Jude and Asher Dravecky. He currently serves as an ambassador for the San Francisco Giants and remains a highly sought-after motivational speaker. Dravecky resides in Mesa, Arizona.
