He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher from 1962 through 1974 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox.

[1] Veale was born on October 28, 1935, in Birmingham, Alabama,[3] where he attended Holy Family High School in the Ensley neighborhood.

[2] The Birmingham Black Barons player-manager Piper Davis made him the team's batboy and let him pitch batting practice regularly.

[2] In 1948, Davis allowed the underaged Veale to pitch in a Black Barons game however, because he was a minor, his appearance was kept off the records.

[2] His performance earned him a promotion to the Columbus Jets of the International League, where he established himself as a strikeout pitcher in 1961 by striking out a league-leading 208 batters in 201 innings.

[2] He led the National League with 250 strikeouts in 1964; he had been tied with Bob Gibson with 245 entering the final day of the season.

[6] Veale was an integral member of the Pirates pitching staff during the 1966 season posting a 16–12 record and a 3.02 ERA in 37 starts and was named to the National League team for the 1966 All-Star Game.

[1][2] The 1966 Pirates team which, included future Baseball Hall of Fame members Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski and Willie Stargell as well as the National League batting champion Matty Alou, fought the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants in a tight pennant race and were in first place on September 10, before they faltered to finish the season in third place for a second consecutive year.

[2] The 1971 season turned to be one of the most successful in team history as the Pirates won the National League Eastern Division.

In the only postseason appearance of his career, he faced five batters, allowing two inherited runners to score on two walks and one hit as the Orioles won 11–3 in Game 2.

[1] In a thirteen-season major league career, Veale posted a 120–95 record with 1,703 strikeouts and a 3.07 ERA in 1,926 innings pitched, including 20 shutouts and 78 complete games.

[1] After his playing career, Veale worked as a minor-league pitching instructor for the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees.