The Washington herald., 1916-07-24
Matty and Old Cy Young
Tower Above All Pitchers
Veteran of twenty-five Years
in Big Shows Has Record
that Bids Fair to Stand.
16 YEARS FOR MASTER"

New York, July 2.-Baseban, We are
told by an eminent authority, is still in
its infancy. II this be true. the great
game viii be truly wonderful when it at
tains its full development. Even now, in
the misty morning of the life OF the sport,
way-marks have risen which will endure
through all time and will serve as ex-
amplss to the coming generations of what
the pioneers Of baseball accomplished.
Shall the name OF a Mathewson ever be
heard by a baseball enthusiast and fall
to call to mind one Of the greatest pitch
ers that ever trod the diamond? Is there
a fan with soul so dead who will not
argue the fame and glory Of the mighty
Cy Young?
These master pitchers will stand out
head and shoulders above the others. The
fame Of Walter johnson is secure, but the
blond shrapnel has still several years to
work before he can boast Of Mathewson's
sixteen years OF service or the twenty
two seasons spent by Cy Young in the
National League first and then in the
younger circuit
The mighty Ed Walsh, once the hero
Of the Chicago White Sox, always will
have his fame, and none deserves it more
richly than he This list might q ex-
tended to include the heroes OF another
decade who have written their names
with a clear. bold hand across the pagN
Of baseball history, but when the final
word shall be spoken Matty and Young
will stand out.
Young ReiEns Supreme.
Time was when Matty and his host
Of admirers hoped to eual the wonder
ful record Of Cy Young, but that dream
must now be abandoned, for a recent ex-
animation by a physician discovered the
fact that a couple of Matty's ribs were
detached from his spine and that his
pitching days were over. In the sixteen
years Of work on the mound Big Six
has won 81 games, and has lost lS9, for
an average of .653 and this includes three
victories and four defeats this season.
In order to equal the wonderful record
Of the mighty Young, the Old Master
would have to pitch at least five years
more, and would have to approximate
his work Of 1910, when he won y games
and lost Q. That, of course, is beyond
all reason, for iron arms OF the sort
possessed by Young are not to be had,
even by the Mathewsons.
Danton 7. Young, which is the real
name Of the wonderful veteran of the two
major leagues, stands forth as the only
pitcher in the history of major league
baseball who has won more than 500
hall sames- In twelve seasons in the
National and ten more in the American,
Young won 5cS games and was beaten in
many other contests, relieving pitchers,
and some OF these do not appear in his
record. He achieved greater success in
the National League. but this is not to
be uaryelled at, for he started there,
coming up from the farm, a great big,
raw-boned boy with a curve ball that
broke like a rams horn, and fast ball
that niPped like a lightning bolt.
1t was nothing for Young to work In
forty games in a season: as a matter of
fact, he took It as slight on his ability
II he were not called on every three or
four days. Between 1891 and 1900, in the
good old days of the National League,
Young never pitched in fewer than 50
games. In the National League he won
81 games, lost 1I3, and had an average
Of -GiS. Young's greatest year was in
1892 his third season in the big show.
when ne won IS games and lost 10.
Needed Lure of Gold.
Young came up to the National
League with Cleveland in 1890. He
remained in the Forest City through
the season Of 1898, when he won "a
games and lost Il The following year
he went to St. Louis and stayed there
until the great war between the
American and National Leagues broke
out. in 1901. Lured by a shower of
gold, assured a salary far in excess of
any he had previously received, Young
followed in the footsteps of many of
the other stars of his day and cast
his lot with the American League, GO
ing TO the Boston Red Sox.
With that great team, which played
under the management of the only
Jimmy Collins, who has been pro-
nounced by experts one Of the great
est third basemen in all time, Young
kept up his wonderful work He won
81 games and lost 10. and that was
one Of the reasons why Boston finished
second in the pennant race.
The following year he won 80 games
and lost u and the Sox finished third.
In 1903, however. Boston won the PEN
nant. and defeated the Pittsburgh Pr
rates in the first OF the modern world
series. In 1904 the Red Sox again won
the American League pennant, but the
Giants, champions Of the National
League, refused to play the post-sea-
son series So it happened that Young
took part in only one world series.
Young remained with the Red Sox
until 1908, and taen went back to
Cleveland, where he got his start eigh-
teen years previous. Cy stayed with
the Indians through 1909 and 1910,
but the truest of steel will buckle un-
der sufficient strain and his right arm
began to lose its power. The follow
ing year he went back to the National
League, with the Boston Braves, but
won only games in nine starts and
retired.
So, briefly. the story of YounE's
wonderful career is outlined The
cold, black type of the record will tell in
a measure just what this peerless veteran
did. but only in a measure. His life is
rich in romantic story Of the diamond,
and a book might we'll be written of
the many interesting sidelights of his
life. Suffice 1t to say. however, that
his fame will never die in baseball.
FRANK ONEII.