One of the greatest pitchers who ever lived  Christy Mathewson was born on this day in 1880.

Ten notes on Christy Mathewson

1.When they started the Baseball Hall of Fame, the first year they inducted 5ive players- Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson. He was that good. His career record mostly with the NY Giants was 373-188.

2. Christy Mathewson was an important figure in the early 20th century baseball because of the type of person he was. Back at that time being a baseball player was looked down upon. It was a rough and tumble game. Christy Mathewson went to college at Bucknell. Christy Mathewson was a gentleman. He helped to change the image of what a baseball player was. He would not pitch on Sunday’s due to his religious beliefs. During his playing days only 3 cities allowed Sunday baseball.

3. At one time my favorite baseball trivia question was- what brother combination won the most games? Christy and Henry Mathewson. Christy won 373 Henry pitched in 3 games for the Giants and was 0-1. Now the answer is the Niekro’s Phil and Joe- 539, ten more than the Perry’s Gaylord and Jim with 529.

4.He had three nicknames “Big Six” “The Christian Gentleman” and “Matty” He was probably the most beloved player in the first 20 years of the 20th century.

5. He was a voice in the darkness on gambling an baseball. He was one of the first and most vocal voices in 1919 when it looked to everyone that something fishy was going on in the World Series. A lot of baseball people [just like the steroid era where everyone knew it but money was being made so the powers that be were quiet} just stuck their head in the sand. Mathewson saw something was wrong and spoke out about it.

6. Christy served in World War I in France and his lungs were damaged by poison gas. He would die  of tuberculosis at the young age of 45 in 1925.

7. As a pitcher Mathewson had good control, a good fastball and he used a relatively new pitch which he called a ‘fadeway” today we call it a screwball.

8. Mathewson won 20 games or more 13 times. He pitched 2 no-hitters. He led the league in strikeouts 5ive times. ESPN in 1999 named Mathewson the 7th greatest baseball player of all time.

9. In the 1905  World Series, the only World Series Champion he would play on Christy Mathewson won 3 games, pitching 3 shutouts and giving up only 14 hits total in those three games. ESPN would name Christy’s 1905 performance in the World Series as the greatest playoff performance of all times.

10.He was traded near the end of the 1916 season by the Giants to the Cincinnati Reds. He only pitched one game for the Reds. He would serve as their manager for three seasons.