Matty

Christy Mathewson

Yes, that is the third nickname for Christy Mathewson, the legendary proponent of the fadeaway in the early part of last century. Perhaps no other pitcher in the history of the game has such a recognizable name, to fans and non-fans alike.

A little-known fact about Mathewson is that he played professional football briefly for the Pittsburgh Stars in 1902, the only year of the team's existence.

In 1905, he turned in possibly the greatest World Series performance by a pitcher. In the span of just six days, he pitched three complete-game shutouts, allowing only 14 hits, as the Giants defeated the Philadelphia Athletics.

Familiar with jubilant times on the field, off the field Mathewson was also acquainted with grief. He had three brothers, and all died before he did: one died as an infant, Nicholas committed suicide in 1909 at age 19, and Henry died of tuberculosis in 1917.

Christy Mathewson Day is celebrated in his hometown of Factoryville, Pennsylvania, every year on the Saturday closest to his birthday. At Bucknell, his alma mater, the football stadium is named in his honor, as are the baseball fields at Keystone College (in Factoryville) and in Taunton, Massachusetts, where Matty played before joining the Giants.

He has also been widely celebrated in poetry, prose, and song. Ogden Nash wrote in 1943:

M is for Matty,

who carried a charm

in the form of an extra

brain in his arm.