The New York herald., 1921-09-11
HERE'S WHERE FANS
CAN REPAY MATTY
Greatest of All Pitchers and
How He Helped the Ma
tiOnal Game.
by WILLIAM b. HANNA.

The time has come when New Workers
can prove their appreciation of what one
man did for them. That man is Christy
Mathewson. best pitcher of his day.
Some folks well versed in baseball and
whose opinions are worth something, re-
gard him as the best pitcher of any day.
There always will be differences Of opin-
ion on that subject. The writer regards
Matty as the most expert of all pitch
ers, and he graced a day when the
pitching standard was higher than now.
There may be pitchers of the present
as efficient as the best Of twelve years
ago. but there aren't as many of them.
Mathewson, Bender, Plank. Young,
Brown, Ruelbach, McGinnity, Johnson,
Leever. Walsh. Philippe, Rucker. Over
all, Wood, Joss. Donovan, Mullen.
Powell-there isn't that much class this
year of 1921. And at the top of the
heap was Matty.
One of the smartest pitchers of the
present day and one who would have
held his own in that distinguished COM
pany--of whom only Walter johnson is
still at it's Carl Mays. Mays has
what Matty had to a marked degree, the
wasn't very difficult to hit Matty
when two were out or when the Giants
were well ahead. He won many games
in which many hits were made off him.
You will notice frequently in Mays's vic
tories that ten to a dozen hits are made
off his pitching
Nobody ever equalled Mathewson for
ability to tighten up when he had to.
lie mad the resources, and they never
got far away from him-speed, the best
control q pitcher ever had, and his
famous fadeaway. his strikeout ball In
a pinch. The fadeaway was ball Of
moderate pace pitched with fast ball
motion. which came up high and broke
in-not a curve. but with a break like
a splitter.
There was another point at which
Matty excelled and that was as a relief
pitcher. He could take another mans
game, as long as It was still on the safe
side. and do more with II than any other
pitcher except Ed Walsh. There was
a good deal of the iron man about
Matty.
Baseball Is peculiarly indebted to this
one time peerless pitcher, who reached
his greatest form under the guidance of
John McGraw. Things were at low
ebb In the National League along in
the early COS. when McGBraw came
to New York to manage the Giants. but
In Christy Mathewson he had a budding
pitcher, who. he knew, was an asset. A
year or two later Matty was burning
up the league. was its sensation, and
largely through the help OF his great
pitching New York began to be pen
nant contender.
Interest In New York grew amazingly
with leaps and bounds, and as interest
In New York grew interest throughout
the rest of the circuit grew. The golden
era In baseball. In which the present
generation Is participating. began about
the time Mathewson and Mordecai
Brown were fghting their memorable
duels. Small wooden grand stands have
given way to big concrete ones, and up
In tho heart Of the Adirondacks. fighting
a good f1ght with tuberculosis is Christy
Mathewson, than whom no man in any
capacity whatsoever has done more to
bring on this golden era.
There's to be testimonial TO Mathew
son in this town In September, the 3Oth
to be exact. It's not charity affair !;
il is TO show appreciation. gratitude, ar
fection. The bigger II is the further II
will go expressing those sentiments
Every fan, every ball player. every
magnate can help little---or big, as the
case may be. It's ZIP TO every fam
player. magnate TO do what he can 10
show his gratitude and TO bring cheer
to the sick man. Now get together
eyerybodv,