The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-09-19
Mat1y Longs For
Football When He
Sees Leaves Fall
Giants Pitcher Says He Likes
Gridiron Game Better Than
Baseball
New York Mail.)


Christy Mathewson. the Big Gun
two pastimes in the realm of sport
The first of these is baseball, the
next checkers, in both of which Chris
ty is champion.
But, on the other hand, so to speak,
neither baseball nor the game OF
checkers holds the highest spot in
Christy's esteem. Despite the fact
that he has achieved the highest
niche in all pitching halls of fame,
the Giant star picks football as the
greatest game he ever played.
I'D rather play one good game of
football" Matty replied to query
along this line, than a dozen games
of baseball, checkers or anything else.
I'm not knocking baseball. It's great
old game and has done more than its
share for me. But for all that I've
never drawn the thrill nor the pleas
ure from it I used to get in a mole
skin suit while hitting line or TAX
ing a shot at the goal in a tight
PINCH
We ran across an old college chum
of Matty's in Boston who furnished
a few interesting SidelineS upon Mat
hewson's work upon the gridiron.
''Matty was the same careful stu
dent and hard worker in football that
ne mas always D66n DdS6Udll, SdiQ
old pal. "He was always the first man
on the field and the last man to leave.
j'Long after the others had quit off
around dusk, Matty was still out there
practicing drop kicks and puntlng up
and down the field. He would work
distances to be prepared for any sort
of emergency.
''He not only played the game but
studied it all the time, studied it just
as he has studied baseball. 1t has
always been Mathewson character
istic that no matter what he went to,
he went to it with everything he
had, studied it closely and overlooked
no bets"
But as the case usually is, this SEM
piternal practice and work stood
Matty in good stead, to pull new
one.
In recounting the best play he ever
gave vent to in football, Big Six lays
the scene of it at West Point.
1--WE were paying the army that
day." remarked Christy, "and the
game was a tight one. Finally we got
the ball on their 47-yard line, over
near the left side of the field, upon
the third down.
81 dropped back for punt, but no.
ticed before the ball was passed that
the Army backfield in place of stay
ing in and attempting to block the
kick, had all drifted back to. han
die the boot. 1 decided then to try
for a field goal, and with plenty of
time was lucky enough to shoot the
ball above the bar
Matty still has a warm spot in his
system for Sammy Strang, the ex-
Giant, now taking the variable course
in gay Paree.
81 pitched my first game in Bos-
ton just ten years ago. was Christys
comment, land Kid Nichols was work.
ing against me. We had the tight
est sort of battle all the way until
Strang finally came through with
long smash and pulled me through
2 to 1.
: THAT gave me my first good start.
A few days later in New York I was
sent in against Boston again with
Nichols once more on the other end.
We had another tight mixup, but
Strang for the second time came
through with a long poke that saved
the day.
'Strang looked then to be one of
He did more than his share in start
ing me along the right road, and
don't think I'll ever forget it,
There were probably not many Bos-
ton Fanatics in the stand that after
noon in 1901 who figured that the
youngster beating Kid Nichols would
be returning to the Hub ten years Ia
ter with a fag-contending team, and
still ranked as one of the greatest
slabmen who ever broke a curve ball
over or whipped a fast one across--a
greater man after ten years than Kid
Nichols was at his best. which was
good enough for all ordinary purpos-
es-with something on the side.
But with all this fame and re-