Bobby Mathews
Pitcher
Born: (1851-11-21)November 21, 1851
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Died: April 17, 1898(1898-04-17) (aged 46)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 4, 1871, for the Fort Wayne Kekiongas
Last MLB appearance
October 10, 1887, for the Philadelphia Athletics
MLB statistics
Win–loss record297-248
Earned run average2.86
Strikeouts1,528
Teams
  NAPBBP
Baltimore Marylands (1869–1870)
Fort Wayne Kekiongas (1871)
Baltimore Canaries (1872)
New York Mutuals (1873–1875)
  National League
New York Mutuals (1876)
Cincinnati Reds (1877)
Providence Grays (1879, 1881)
Boston Red Caps (1881–1882)
  American Association
Philadelphia Athletics (1883–1887)
Career highlights and awards
  • Won first NA game on May 4, 1871
  • NL champion (1879)
  • AA champion (1883)

Robert T. Mathews (November 21, 1851 – April 17, 1898) was an American right-handed professional baseball pitcher who played in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, the National League of Major League Baseball and the American Association for twenty years beginning in the late 1860s. He is credited as being one of the inventors of the spitball pitch,[1][2] in each of three major leagues.[1] which was rediscovered or reintroduced to the major leagues after he died. He is also credited with the first legal pitch which broke away from the batter.[1][2] He is listed at 5 feet 5 inches tall and 140 pounds, which is small for a pro athlete even in his time, when the average height of an American male in the mid-19th century was 5 foot 7.

Career

Mathews was born in 1851, in Baltimore, Maryland, and he played as a teenager with the Maryland club of that city, and he made the team a dangerous one. Mathews began his career at the age of 16 for the Marylands of Baltimore (a junior squad) in 1868. A year later, he moved to the senior club, and the following year the club declared themselves professional, resulting in the creation of the National Association of Base Ball Players (NAABP). On August 19, he made his first ever start in the league against the Orientals of New York, winning 28–15.[3] For the 1871 season, he and some other Maryland players signed with the Fort Wayne Kekiongas. On May 4, 1871, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, he pitched a shutout in the inaugural game of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NA), the first professional league.[1][2]

Over his 16-year career, he had 297 wins, 248 losses, 525 complete games, with a career earned run average of 2.86. He had 1,528 strikeouts compared with 532 walks. He won 20 games 8 times, including 42 in 1874 with the New York Mutuals of the National Association, and is the only player to win 50 games or to pitch 100 games[2] in each of three major leagues.[1]

Mathews died in 1898 in Baltimore, at the age of 46, of paresis caused by syphilis,[4] and is interred at New Cathedral Cemetery, also in Baltimore.[5]

After baseball

Mathews umpired a few games between 1871 and 1888[5] and signed with the regular staff of the Players' League in 1890, returning to the AA in 1891.

Legacy

Over his 16-year career, he had 297 wins, 248 losses, 525 complete games, with a career earned run average of 2.86. He had 1,528 strikeouts compared with 532 walks. He won 20 games 8 times, including a career-high 42 in 1874 with the New York Mutuals of the National Association, and is the only player to win 50 games or to pitch 100 games[2] in each of three major leagues.[1] He is the 25th winningest pitcher in MLB history, yet has the most career innings pitched and the second-highest number of wins (behind Roger Clemens) for a pitcher not elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is also the pitcher with the highest number of wins without reaching 300.[6] Although he was known primarily as a pitcher (doing so for 578 games), he also played games in other positions from time to time, playing 80 games in the outfield, nine as a third baseman and two as a shortstop.

Death

Mathews died in 1898 in Baltimore, at the age of 46, of paresis caused by syphilis,[4] and is interred at New Cathedral Cemetery, also in Baltimore.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pietrusza, David; Matthew Silverman; Gershman, Michael (2000). Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia. New York: Total Sports. p. 720. ISBN 1-892129-34-5.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Charlton, James; Shatzkin, Mike; Holtje, Stephen (1990). The Ballplayers: baseball's ultimate biographical reference. New York: Arbor House/William Morrow. p. 679. ISBN 0-87795-984-6.
  3. ↑ "Bobby Mathews – Society for American Baseball Research".
  4. 1 2 "Too Young To Die". thedeadballera.com. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
  5. 1 2 3 "Retrosheet". Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  6. ↑ "The Official Site of Major League Baseball: Stats: Historical Leaders". Retrieved 2008-06-26.

Further reading

  • Wright, Marshall D. (2000). The National Association of Base Ball Players, 1857–1870. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0779-4.
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