Christy Mathewson facts
- Christopher "Christy" Mathewson (August 12, 1880 – October 7, 1925), was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball.
- Nickname: "Big Six", "The Christian Gentleman", or "Matty"
- Mathewson had a career-winning percentage of .665 which is sixth best of all time.
- He played in what is known as the dead-ball era; and in 1936 was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its "first five" inaugural members.
- Christy Mathewson was the most dominant pitcher during the first two decades of the 1900's.
- Mathewson was born in Factoryville, Pennsylvania and attended Bucknell University, where he served as class president and played on the school's football and baseball teams.
- His 373 career wins is third on the all-time list.
- He was also a member of the fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta.
- During his 17 year career, Christy Mathewson led the league in ERA five times.
- His first experience of semi-professional baseball came in 1895, when he was just 14 years old.
- His career ERA was 2.13, which is fifth best of all time.
- Height: 6'1 1/2"
- Matthewson was selected to the Walter Camp All-American football team in 1900. He was a drop-kicker.
- Bucknell's football stadium is named "Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium".
- Christy Mathewson pitched a record three shutouts in six days against the Philadelphia Athletics, leading the Giants to win the 1905 World Series.
- Christy Mathewson won at least 20 games for 12 consecutive years (1903-1914).
- Christy Mathewson won 20 games 13 times and 30 games 4 times.
- 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).
- Mathewson is third on the all-time list for shutouts with 80.
- Mathewson had the most wins in Giant franchise history - 372 with 83 shutouts and over 2500 strikeouts.
- Christy Mathewson is one of the first five players elected to the Hall of Fame in 1936.
- Christy Mathewson Day is celebrated as a holiday in his hometown of Factoryville, Pennsylvania, on the Saturday closest to his birthday.
- A man of high moral convictions and a great right arm, Christy Mathewson was a posthumous member of the original Baseball Hall of Fame class of 1936.
- The former Whittenton Ballfield in Taunton, Massachusetts is named in memory of Christy Mathewson who played for the Taunton team in the New England Baseball League before he joined the New York Giants.
- Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver has often been compared with Mathewson.
- The band Family Groove Company has a song on their first album Reachin' entitled "Christy" that relates some of Mathewson's achievements.
- Mathewson is mentioned in the poem "Lineup for Yesterday" by Ogden Nash:
- In 1936, Christy Mathewson was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of the famous "First Five" inductees into the HOF, along with Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson and Honus Wagner. He was the only one of the five who didn't live to see his induction.
- In 1999, he ranked number 7 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, the highest-ranking National League pitcher.
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| "Christy" Mathewson |
- ESPN selected his pitching performance in the 1905 World Series as the greatest playoff performance of all time. During WW II, a 422 foot Liberty Ship named in his honor, SS Christy Mathewson, was built in Richmond, CA in 1943.
