Christy Mathewson Christopher " Christy " Mathewson ( August 12 , 1880 – October 7 , 1925 ) , nicknamed " Big Six " , " The Christian Gentleman " , or " Matty " , was an American Major League Baseball right - handed pitcher . He was among the most dominant pitchers of his ( or any ) era and ranks in the all - time top - 10 in major pitching categories such as wins , shutouts , and ERA . In , Mathewson was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its " first five " inaugural members . Mathewson grew up in Factoryville , Pennsylvania , and he began playing semi - professional baseball when he was 14 years old . He played in the minor leagues in 1899 with a pitching record of 20 wins and two losses . He then started an unsuccessful tenure with the New York Giants the next season but was sent back to the minors . Mathewson would eventually return to the Giants and go on to win 373 games in his career , which is a National League record . In the 1905 World Series , he pitched three shutouts , leading to a Giants victory . Mathewson never pitched on Sundays due to his Christian beliefs , lending to his nickname . The pitcher also played professional football for the Pittsburgh Stars for a short period of time before quitting . Mathewson served in World War I and died in Saranac Lake , New York of tuberculosis in 1925 . Early life . Mathewson was born in Factoryville , Pennsylvania and attended high school at Keystone Academy ( now Keystone College ) . He attended college at Bucknell University , where he served as class president and played on the school ' s football and baseball teams . He was also a member of the fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta . His first experience of semi - professional baseball came in 1895 , when he was just 14 years old . The manager of the Factoryville ball club asked him to pitch in a game with a rival team in Mill City , Pennsylvania . Mathewson helped his hometown team to a 19 – victory , but with his batting rather than his pitching . He continued to play baseball during his years at Bucknell , pitching for minor league teams in Honesdale and Meridian , Pennsylvania . Mathewson was selected to the Walter Camp All - American football team in 1900 . He was a drop - kicker . Professional career . Minor league career & early major league career . In , Mathewson left college and signed to play professional baseball with Taunton of the New England League . The next season , he moved on to play on the Norfolk team of the Virginia - North Carolina League . He finished that season with a 20 – 2 record . In July of that year , the New York Giants purchased his contract from Norfolk for $ 1 , 500 ( $ in current dollar terms ) . Between July and September 1900 Mathewson appeared in six games for the Giants . He started one of those games and compiled a 0 – 3 record . Displeased with his performance , the Giants returned him to Norfolk and demanded their money back . Later that month , the Cincinnati Reds picked up Mathewson off the Norfolk roster . On December 15 , 1900 , the Reds quickly traded Mathewson back to the Giants for Amos Rusie . Football career . Mathewson played professional football as early as 1898 with the Greensburg Athletic Association . In 1902 , while a member of the New York Giants , Mathewson played professional football in the first National Football League in 1902 . He played as a fullback for the Pittsburgh Stars . However , Mathewson disappeared from the team in the middle of their season . Some historians speculate that the Giants got word that their star pitcher was risking his life and baseball career for the Stars and ordered him to stop , while others feel that the Stars ' coach , Willis Richardson , got rid of Mathewson because he felt that , since the fullback ' s punting skills were hardly used , he could replace him with a local player , Shirley Ellis . Career with the Giants . During his 17 - year career , Mathewson won 373 games and lost 188 for a . 665 winning percentage . His career ERA of 2 . 13 and 79 career shutouts are among the best all - time for pitchers , and his 373 wins is still number one in the National League , tied with Grover Cleveland Alexander . Employing a good fastball , outstanding control , and , especially , a new pitch he termed the " fadeaway " ( later known in baseball as the " screwball " ) , which he learned from teammate Dave Williams in 1898 , This reference is challenged by Ken Burns documentary " Baseball " in which it is stated that Mathewson learned his " fadeaway " from Andrew " Rube " Foster when New York Giants manager John Joseph McGraw quietly hired Rube to show the Giants bullpen what he knew . Mathewson recorded 2 , 507 career strikeout s against only 848 walks . He is famous for his 25 pitching duels with Mordecai " Three Finger " Brown , who won 13 of the duels against Mathewson ' s 11 , with one no - decision . Mathewson ' s Giants won the 1905 World Series over the Philadelphia Athletics . Mathewson was the starting pitcher in Game 1 , and pitched a 4 - hit shutout for the victory . Three days later , with the series tied 1 – 1 , he pitched another 4 - hit shutout . Then , two days later in Game 5 , he threw a 6 - hit shutout to clinch the series for the Giants . In a span of only six days , Mathewson had pitched three complete games without allowing a run while giving up only 14 hits . The 1905 World Series capped an impressive year for Mathewson as he had already won the National League Triple Crown for pitchers , and threw the second no - hitter of his career . He claimed the Triple Crown again in , and by the time he left the Giants , the team had captured four more National League pennants , in addition to the aforementioned appearance in the World Series . As noted in " The National League Story " ( 1961 ) by Lee Allen , Mathewson was a devout Christian and never pitched on Sunday . The impact of this on the Giants was minimized , since , in the eight - team National League , only the Chicago Cubs ( Illinois ) , Cincinnati Reds ( Ohio ) , and St . Louis Cardinals ( Missouri ) played home games in states that allowed professional sports on Sunday . Mathewson played with his brother Henry Mathewson , also a pitcher , in 1906 and 1907 ; Mathewson had 1 win and no losses . Three years with the Reds . On July 20 , , Mathewson ' s career came full circle when he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds along with Edd Roush . He won one game with the Reds and served as their manager for the next three seasons . Mathewson and Brown wrapped up their respective careers by squaring off on September 4 , 1916 . The game was billed as the final meeting between the two old baseball warriors . The high - scoring game was a win for Mathewson ' s Reds over Brown ' s Cubs . Personal life . Mathewson was one of four brothers : one died in infancy , Nicholas killed himself in 1909 at the age of 19 , and Henry died of tuberculosis in 1917 . Christy Mathewson and Jane Stoughton were married on March 4 , 1903 . They remained married until Mathewson ' s death . World War I and after . In 1918 , Mathewson enlisted in the United States Army for World War I . He served overseas as a Captain in the newly formed Chemical Service along with Ty Cobb . While in France , during a training exercise he was accidentally gassed and subsequently developed tuberculosis , which more easily infects lungs that have been damaged by chemical gases . Although he returned to serve as a coach for the Giants from – , he spent a good portion of that time in Saranac Lake fighting the illness , initially at the Trudeau Sanitorium , and later in a house that he had built . In , Mathewson got back into professional baseball when he served as part - time president of the Boston Braves . Death and legacy . Two years later , he died in Saranac Lake , New York , of tuberculosis . He is buried at Lewisburg Cemetery in Lewisburg , Pennsylvania , adjacent to Bucknell University . Members of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Senators wore black armbands during the 1925 World Series . Mathewson had died on the day the Series began , October 7 . According to the Ken Burns ' documentary series , " Baseball " , one of Mathewson ' s last words were to his wife : " Now Jane , I want you to go outside and have yourself a good cry . Don ' t make it a long one ; this can ' t be helped . "