Christy Mathewson (1880-1925)
Factoryville, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
The famed baseball pitcher was born in Factoryville. Attended Keystone Academy, 1895-98; Bucknell University, 1898-1901. He was with the New York Giants, 1900-26, and Cincinnati Reds, 1916-18; pitched 373 winning games, achieving a National League record. Served overseas in World War I. One of the first five players in the Hall of Fame (1936), he was seen as a gentleman in a rough-and-tumble baseball era.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Christy Mathewson, born in Factoryville in 1880, rose from small-town Pennsylvania and Bucknell University to become one of baseball's greatest pitchers with the New York Giants. Renowned for his sportsmanship in a rough era of the game, he won a National League–record number of games and later served overseas in World War I. In 1936 he was named one of the first five inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Why it matters
Mathewson helped make baseball respectable to a wider American public, becoming a model of the athlete as gentleman and one of the sport's founding legends.
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Related people
- · Christy Mathewson
Themes & tags
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