About Me
Birth name: Christopher Mathewson
Nickname: Big Six, Matty
Birth date: August 12, 1880
Birth place:Factoryville, Pennsylvania
Death date: October 7, 1925
Death location: Saranac Lake, New York (Tuberculosis contracted from gas poisoning during WWI military service)
Height: 6'1 1/2"
Weight: 195 lbs.
Position: Pitcher
Threw: Right
Athletic teams: New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds
Baseball was a popular sport during its first 30 years, but it had always lacked one thing: a superstar. The 19th century was full of great players that won great popularity, but one thing the period lacked was a superstar that the masses could idolize. Baseball found its first superstar in the form of Christy Mathewson, a handsome, college-educated gentleman that stood as the shining star in the brutal world of early baseball. Matty, as he was known, seemed to have been the embodiment of Frank Meriwell, the virtuous baseball hero in a popular serial at the time. His only character flaw seemed to have been his arrogance, but his performance on the field in some ways justified it. He had a good grasp of the assortment of the standard pitches: the fastball, the curveball, and the change-up, and he had perfected a reverse-curveball that made him one of the most dominating pitchers of the era. It is known today as a screwball, but players back them called it a fadeaway, for it seems to fade away from the hitter's line of sight. He threw all of these pitches with pinpoint precision. To top it off, Mathewson had the intelligence that was almost impossible to find in early baseball. He was book-smart, having been educated at Bucknell and known to have been a terrific checkers player. And he was smart on the field. It was Christy Mathewson that coined the phrase "You can learn little from victory. You can learn everything from defeat."
Mathewson was the child of a wealthy farmer. He played an active role during his three years in college, and was a star athlete in three sports. During the summers he would play on various minor league teams. He was purchased by the Giants, but was released after going 0-3 in his first major league season in 1900. He was later signed by both the Philadelphia Athletics (of the brand new American League) and the Cincinnati Reds. To complicate things, the Reds mysteriously traded Mathewson to the Giants for the burned out fireballer Amos Rusie. Forced to decide whether to return to the Giants or enter the American League, Mathewson decided to stick with the former. Mathewson was good but not great in his first two full seasons with the Giants. He pitched a no-hitter, but went 34-34. The Giants manager at the time tried to convert Mathewson into an infielder in 1902, but when new manager John McGraw arrived, he encouraged Mathewson to give it all he had, and Mathewson delivered. He won at least 30 games in the next three seasons (30, 33, 31) and, alongside Iron Man Joe McGinnity, led the Giants to consecutive pennants in 1904 and 1905. In 1905, he pitched in his first World Series. Having already pitched a no-hitter, he continued his dominance by hurling three complete game shutouts as the Giants easily topped the A's. Mathewson won a career-high 37 games in 1908, but the one win he couldn't get turned out to be the most important. A playoff game was required between the Giants and the Cubs after they were tied during the regular season (after a legendary game that deserves a page of its own), as he lost 4-2 to Moredcai "Three Finger" Brown. The Cubs went on to win the World Series, and never won again: The Curse of the 1908 Giants (that darned Billy Goat gets too much credit.)
Mathewson never failed to win at least 20 games in a staggering 12 consecutive seasons (1903-1914). His 300th win came in his 23-win 1912 season. Needing only 11 wins to get to the milestone after 1911, Mathewson won the first ten games quickly. His 300th career victory came on June 13, 1912 against none other than the Chicago Cubs. He was unable to get even with Brown. Instead, he topped staff ace Larry Cheney for a 4-3 victory. Mathewson teamed up with Rube Marquard to bring the Giants another pennant that year, but suffered a rare mental lapse in the deciding game of the World Series and eventually lost to the Boston Red Sox. After a 24-win season in 1914, Mathewson's arm began fading in 1915, and went 8-14 while pitching half as much as he used to. Mathewson was asked to manage the Reds in the middle of 1916, and so Giants management agreed to trade the fading Mathewson to Cincinnati, where he finally got his revenge for the embarrassing loss to Brown in his 373rd and final career win.
Mathewson continued to manage the Reds after his career ended, and he turned the pitiful Reds from a cellar-dweller to a .500 club. In 1918, he was one of many players (and former players) that enlisted in the Army to fight in The Great War. Mathewson was assigned to train recruits how to put on gas masks, and was unfortunately exposed to mustard gas during a drill, and it permanently injured his lungs. After the war, Mathewson went to coach for the Giants, but was bothered by a nasty cough. Doctors discovered that Matty had contracted tuberculosis, a potentially fatal lung disease. Mathewson moved to a sanitarium, where he stayed for a few years to recuperate. As soon as he showed improvement, Mathewson went and purchased the Boston Braves in 1923 while doubling as president. It would be the most unwise thing he would do in his life. His health steadily worsened, and eventually he had to return to the sanitarium. By then, the line of no return had been crossed, and the disease would eventually kill him. It crushed not only the baseball world, but also the nation, for they had lost one of their earliest and most beloved sports heroes. Nobody was sadder than John McGraw, who loved Mathewson as though he was the son McGraw never had. In 1936, Mathewson was one of the first five men that were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. It may be arguable that there were better pitchers than Matty, but there's no denying that Mathewson was one of baseball's finest gentlemen.
Spouse- Jane Stoughton (m.1903 - 7 October 1925) (his death)
1 child-Christopher Mathewson, Jr.
Trivia-
*Pitcher for the New York Giants (1900-1915) and Cincinnati Reds (1916).
*Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as a charter member by the BBWAA in 1936.
*He once defeated Newell Banks, checkers champion of 1917-1922 and 1933-1934, in a game.
*His most famous pitch was the "fadeaway", which is our modern day screwball.
*Set the National League modern day record for most wins in a season (37).
*Won three shutouts (the only pitcher to do so) in the 1905 World Series.
*San Francisco Giants All-Time Strikeouts Leader (2,499).
*San Francisco Giants All-Time Innings Pitched Leader (4,771 2/3).
*San Francisco Giants All-Time Shutouts Leader (79).
*San Francisco Giants All-Time Complete Games Leader (433).
*San Francisco Giants All-Time Games Started Leader (550).
*San Francisco Giants All-Time ERA Leader (2.12).
*San Francisco Giants All-Time Wins leader (372).
*1905 and 1908 National League Triple Crown Award Winner.
*Finished 2nd in voting for 1911 National League MVP.
*Finished 4th in voting for 1913 National League MVP.
*Member of 1904, 1911, 1912 and 1913 National League Champion New York Giants teams. Member of 1905 World Series Champion New York Giants team.
*Manager for Cincinnati Reds (1916-18).
Personal Quotes-
-"You can learn little from victory. You can learn everything from defeat."
-"You must have an alibi to show why you lost. If you haven't one, you must fake one. Your self-confidence must be maintained."
-"Anybody's best pitch is the one the batters ain't hitting that day."
-"A boy cannot begin playing ball too early. I might almost say that while he is still creeping on all fours he should have a bouncing rubber ball."
-"A young ballplayer looks on his first spring training trip as a stage struck young woman regards the theater."
-"If you've ever been around a group of actors, you've noticed, no doubt, that they can talk of nothing else under the sun but acting. It's exactly the same way with baseball players. Your heart must be in your work."
-"I owe everything I have to them when I'm out there on the mound. But I owe the fans nothing and they owe me nothing when I am not pitching."
-"Many baseball fans look upon an umpire as a sort of necessary evil to the luxury of baseball, like the odor that follows an automobile."
-"No man can have a 'yellow streak' and last. He must pay much attention to his nerves or temperament. He must hide every flaw."
-"First of all, no one can live up to everything that's been written or said about me. And, I keep to myself. I'm a private man. Yet, because I pitch for the New York Giants, I realize that I'm able to reach more young men than the President of the United States. That's not due to the fact that I'm more popular than Mr. Taft - I don't believe - but, it's a fact boys would rather read about yesterday afternoon's event at the Polo Grounds. Because of that, I feel very strongly that it is my duty to show those youth the good, clean, honest values that I was taught by my Mother when I was a youngster. That, really, is all I can do."
Did you know?-
*He was the most dominant pitcher during the first two decades of the 1900's.
*His 373 career wins is third on the all-time list.
*He had a career-winning percentage of .665 which is sixth best of all time.
*His career ERA was 2.13, which is fifth best of all time.
*During his 17 year career, he led the league in ERA five times.
*He pitched a record three shutouts in six days against the Philadelphia Athletics, leading the Giants to win the 1905 World Series.
*From 1907 to 1911, his ERA was under 2.00.
*In 15 full seasons of pitching, his ERA was above 3.00 only once.
*He led the league in wins four times, in strikeouts five times, and in shutouts four times.
*He won 20 games 13 times and 30 games 4 times.
*He won at least 20 games for 12 consecutive years (1903-1914).
*He is third on the all-time list for shutouts with 80.
*His best season was in 1908 when he led the league in wins (37), ERAs (1.43), games pitched (56), games started (44), complete games (34), innings pitched (390.2), strikeouts (259), and shutouts (12).
*He is one of the first five players elected to the Hall of Fame in 1936.
*Christy Mathewson had the most wins in Giant franchise history - 372 with 83 shutouts and over 2500 strikeouts.
*A man of high moral convictions and a great right arm, Mathewson was a posthumous member of the original Baseball Hall of Fame class of 1936.
