Christy Mathewson

Christy Mathewson
Pitcher
Born: August 12, 1880 Factoryville, United States
Died on: October 7, 1925 Saranac Lake, United States
Suggested: Right	Threw: Right
Debut in Major League Baseball
July 17,  1900  with the  New York Giants
Last MLB assignment
September 4,  1916  with the  Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics (until end of career)
Win-loss	373-188
ERA	2.13
Strikeouts	2.502
Shutouts	79
Teams
As a player New York Giants (1900-1916) Cincinnati Reds (1916) As a manager Cincinnati Reds (1916-1918)
Awards
World Series Champion (1905) 2 × Pitcher's Triple Crown (1905, 1908) Major League Baseball All-Century Team
member of
Baseball Hall of Fame
Recorded	1936
Quota	90.7% (first ballot)

Christopher "Christy" Mathewson (born August 12, 1880 in Factoryville , Pennsylvania , † October 7, 1925 in Saranac Lake , New York ) was an American baseball player and manager.

Mathewson played in the pitching position and was known by the nicknames " Big Six ", " The Christian Gentleman ", or " Matty ".

Early years

Mathewson attended Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. There he played both football and baseball on the respective school teams. Mathewson gained his first experience in semi-professional baseball at the age of 14 when he was allowed to pitch for the baseball club in his hometown Factoryville in a game against Mill City. During his time at Bucknell, Christy played for minor league teams in Honesdale, Pennsylvania and Meridian, Pennsylvania.

Professional career

1899 to 1900

In 1899, Mathewson left college and signed his first professional baseball contract with Taunton , a New England League team . The following year he moved to Norfolk in the Virginia-North Carolina League , where he ended the season with a remarkable win-loss of 20-2. In July 1900, the New York Giants bought Mathewson's contract from Norfolk for $ 1,500. After Mathewson had a 3-0 record in six games for the Giants, New York demanded his money back. A short time later, the Cincinnati Reds took Mathewson into their squad, only to let him move back to the Giants in December in exchange for Amos Rusie .

New York Giants

During his 17-year career, Mathewson brought it to 188 losses to 373 wins , which corresponds to an outstanding win rate of 66.5%. He continues to lead the all-time best list of wins in the National League , together with Pete Alexander .

Mathewson warming up before a game

The 25 duels against pitcher Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown are still famous today . Brown won 13 of the duels, Mathewson 11. One game ended in a no-decision.

In 1905 Mathewson won the World Series with the Giants against the Philadelphia Athletics , where he made game 1 as a starting pitcher with a 4-hit shutout for victory. He did the same three days later in game 3 of the series. In game 5 he finally decided the series thanks to a 6-hit shutout in favor of the Giants. As a result, Mathewson managed to pitch three full games in just six days without the opponent getting a run .

In the same year Mathewson had already won the Triple Crown for pitchers in the National League, which he should succeed again in 1908.

Cincinnati Reds

On July 20, 1916, Mathewson was traded to the Cincinnati Reds, where he took over the position of manager after only one pitched game, which he held for the next three seasons.

First World War

In 1918, Mathewson volunteered in the United States Army to the First World War to fight. He served with Ty Cobb in Europe in the war gas department. During an exercise, he suffered gas poisoning in an incident that caused him to develop tuberculosis . Due to his illness, Christy returned to the USA and worked as a coach for the Giants from 1919 to 1920. From 1923 Mathewson then served part-time as president of the Boston Braves .

death

Two years after joining the Braves, Mathewson died in Saranac Lake, New York, on the day of Game 1 of the 1925 World Series . In his honor, the teams involved, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Senators , played with a black ribbon . Mathewson is buried in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

Other sports

During his time with the New York Giants in 1902, Matthewson also played professional American football in the NFL for half a season . He was used in the Pittsburgh Stars on the position of fullback .

Web links

Commons : Christy Mathewson  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Player information and statistics from MLB  or  Baseball Reference  or  Fangraphs  or  Baseball Reference (Minor League) (English)
• Official Website of Christy Mathewson (English)
• Christy Mathewson in the Hall of Fame (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Christy Mathewson . HistoricBaseball.com. Retrieved October 28, 2006.
2. ↑ Kashatus (2002), p. 27.
3. ↑ Kashatus (2002), p. 33.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Christy Mathewson . BaseballLibrary.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2007. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 28, 2006. 
5. ↑ Christy Mathewson . Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 31, 2007.
6. ↑ The Ballplayers: Christy Mathewson . BaseballLibrary.com. September 4, 1916. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 3, 2009.