38 Facts About Christy Mathewson

1. Christy Mathewson was one of the five charter members of the Hall of Fame inducted in 1936.

2. Christy Mathewson topped the 30-win column four times and the 20-win column nine times.

3. Christy Mathewson was buried at Bucknell College, and McGraw served as a pallbearer at the funeral.

4. Christy Mathewson managed the Reds for three seasons without getting them into contention.

5. Christy Mathewson still holds the all-time World Series records of four shutouts and ten complete games.

6. Christy Mathewson was nicknamed "Big Six" by his team-mates because he measured six feet, quite tall for that era.

7. Christy Mathewson electrified the nation by pitching three shutouts in the five-game series.

8. Christy Mathewson won 317 games and lost only 133 games in that span.

9. Christy Mathewson went on to win 372 games for the Giants before returning to the Reds for one final victory in 1916.

10. Christy Mathewson was a much-admired American sports hero in the early part of the twentieth century.

11. Christy Mathewson was posthumously elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, a member of the inaugural class and "First Five", in 1936 alongside Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson and Ty Cobb.

12. Christy Mathewson was unquestionably the most dominant pitcher of his era, the Deadball Era, as he led the NL in ERA and strikeouts five times, four times in shutouts, twice in starts and complete games, and once in winning percentage, games, saves and innings pitched.

13. Christy Mathewson posted his first 20-win season in 1901 and never looked back.

14. Christy Mathewson died in Saranac Lake, New York, of tuberculosis on October 7, 1925.

15. Christy Mathewson turned over the presidency to Fuchs after the season.

16. Christy Mathewson served overseas as a captain in the newly formed Chemical Service along with Ty Cobb.

17. Christy Mathewson trusted Mathewson for his writing intellect as well as his unbiased standpoint.

18. Christy Mathewson went on to pursue more literary endeavors ending in 1917 with a children's book called Second Base Sloan.

19. In 1912, Christy Mathewson published his classic memoir 'Pitching in a Pinch,' or Pitching from the Inside, which was admired by poet Marianne Moore and still in print.

20. Christy Mathewson garnered respect throughout the baseball world as a pitcher of great sportsmanship.

21. Christy Mathewson was the only player to whom John McGraw ever gave full discretion.

22. Christy Mathewson was highly regarded in the baseball world during his lifetime.

23. Christy Mathewson repeated a strong performance in 1910 and then again in 1911 when the Giants captured their first pennant since 1905.

24. Christy Mathewson returned for an incredible 1909 season, posting better numbers than the previous year.

25. Christy Mathewson led the league in innings pitched and shutouts, and held hitters to an exceptionally low 0.827 WHIP.

26. Christy Mathewson was the starting pitcher in Game 1, and pitched a 4-hit shutout for the victory.

27. Christy Mathewson employed a good fastball, outstanding control, and, especially, a new pitch he termed the "fadeaway", which he learned from teammate Dave Williams in 1898.

28. Christy Mathewson turned pro in 1898, appearing as a fullback with the Greensburg Athletic Association.

29. Christy Mathewson played football at Keystone Academy from 1895 to 1897.

30. Christy Mathewson continued to attend Bucknell during that time period.

31. Christy Mathewson was selected to the Walter Camp All-American football team in 1900.

32. Christy Mathewson continued to play baseball during his years at Bucknell, pitching for minor league teams in Honesdale and Meridian, Pennsylvania.

33. Christy Mathewson was a member of the fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta.

34. Christy Mathewson served in the United States Army's Chemical Warfare Service in World War I, and was accidentally exposed to chemical weapons during training.

35. Christy Mathewson led the Giants to victory in the 1905 World Series by pitching three shutouts.

36. Christy Mathewson would eventually return to the Giants and go on to win 373 games in his career, a National League record.

37. Christy Mathewson pitched for the New York Giants the next season but was sent back to the minors.

38. In 1936, Christy Mathewson was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame, as one of its first five members.