Terlecki was a MISL Most Valuable Player recipient who scored 267 goals and recorded 179 assists in his 256-game career with the Pittsburgh Spirit, New York Cosmos, Golden Bay Earthquakes, and St. Louis Storm.
[6] Terlecki achieved his greatest success with the MISL's Pittsburgh Spirit, a place where he was affectionately known as "Stan the Fran" (as in "the Franchise"), becoming the club's all-time top scorer.
During the finals, however, the San Diego Sockers were successful in keeping Terlecki off the scoresheet by limiting the Polish star to only one assist, and this was believed to have been a major key to the team's three-game sweep over the Cosmos for the NASL Indoor championship that season.
[12] Terlecki was known for his effort and dribbling and shooting skills,[13] including his speedy ability to score by using a short windup to take powerful shots with either of his size-6 feet.
In a February 1982 Sports Illustrated magazine article, then-Pittsburgh Spirit forward and teammate Paul Child described Terlecki's shooting prowess by stating: "His leg movement is maybe a quarter of mine.
"[4] Having already outraged the Polish soccer authorities by switching clubs from Gwardia Warszawa to Łódzki KS in 1975, Terlecki's ardent political views against the rampant totalitarianism in both his home country and the Soviet Union at the time drew attention during the 1978 World Cup competition.
Due to the relaxation of political oppression in his native country over time, Terlecki returned to Poland with his family in 1986 and rejoined his former club, Łódzki KS.
Following Terlecki's retirement from the playing field, it is reported that he remained involved in soccer thereafter by obtaining his coaching license and working with a high-level youth club in Poland.
[15] Terlecki died in his home in Łódź on 28 December 2017, at age 62, according to a release from the Polish Football Association and multiple European news reports.