by Frank Deford
Neither of the widows ever remarried. Jane lived in Saranac, where Matty died, then moved back to Lewisburg, where she met him. She attended the induction ceremonies for Matty at Cooperstown and often went back for those annual occasions. She and Blanche McGraw always stayed in touch and saw one another time and again. Blanche lived out her life in New York. She would go up to Giant games at the Polo Grounds and often even journeyed south to visit the team in spring training. She wrote a loving biography of her husband, making sure to stick to the story that Muggsy was not one bit disloyal to her native Baltimore when he kangarooed out. When Blanche would receive letters asking for McGraw’s autograph, she would dutifully clip his signature from old canceled checks.
In 1954, when Baltimore returned to the American League after fifty-two years, she came back to Opening Day for the Orioles. Then, too, three years later, on September 29, 1957, she attended the final New York Giants game played at the Polo Grounds. She was given a dozen long-stemmed roses to mark the sad occasion. Blanche died five years later, at the age of eighty-two, having outlived Muggsy by twenty-eight years.
Jane died in 1967. She outlived Matty by forty-two years. Her son, John Christopher, also predeceased her. The same sort of calamities that had beset his father and his uncles fell to him, too. After Bucknell, he became a pilot in the U.S. Army Flying Corps. In 1932, when he was twenty-six years old, he was taking his bride of two weeks on her first airplane ride. The plane rose sixty feet, then crashed. The bride was killed. His left leg was amputated above the knee. Remarried, he was killed in 1950, age forty-three, in a gas explosion at his home in Texas.
John Christopher had no children. So, as with McGraw, there are no Mathewson heirs. All that they both left behind were incredibly vivid numbers and the hazy recollections of the lovely things they accomplished together on the diamond back when the American national sport was just finding itself in New York, and all the innings were in the sunlight.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Of the considerable amount of writings about Mathewson and McGraw, the indispensable biographies arc Matty: An American Hero by Ray Robinson and John McGraw by Charles C. Alexander. Where TheyAint, the story of the Old Orioles, by Burt Solomon, is just as valuable a history of that whole team and era. Philip Seib’s The Player is the most recent welcome addition to Mathewsonian literature.
Particularly fun reading are two novels. The Celebrant, by Eric Rolfe Greenberg, is the story of a family of Jewish jewelers who become especially involved with the good Mathewson and the evil Hal Chase. Havana Heat, by Darryl Brock, tells the imaginative tale of Dummy Taylor, as he joins McGraw and Mathewson on their 1911 exhibition tour of Cuba.
Bob Gaines at Bucknell University and Bill Francis at the Baseball Hall of Fame volunteered help with enthusiasm, and so many librarians at the New-York Historical Society were always quick to lend polite assistance as I tried to pick my way through the dusty old years.
I also must thank Rob Fleder, the editor on my original Sports Illustrated piece, and Terry McDonell, the managing editor, whose (wise) idea it was to turn a magazine story into what became this book.
—F. D.
INDEX
Aaron, Hank (“Hammerin’”), 134
Abeal, José, 80
Adams, Franklin P., 137
Adams, Henry, 91
African Americans, 98, 99, 159
Aguinaldo, 56
alcohol consumption, 80, 82, 97, 157–58, 173. See also beer
Alexander, Charles C, 68
American League, 43, 44, 53, 54, 56, 63, 97, 105, 212
peace pact between National League and, 107
reasons for immediate success, 44
American Protective Association, 51
anti-Semitism, 17, 18. See also Jews
athletes. See also baseball players; sports heroes
American attitudes toward, 82, 132
Aulick, W. A., 142
Baker, Frank, 164–67
Baker, Hobey, 131
ballparks, 56
Baltimore, 22–23, 29. See also Orioles
German immigrants in, 45
“Baltimore chop,” 25
Baltimore Club, 55, 56
Baltimore Scorecard (1896), 84
Baltimore Shooting Association, 44
Banquet Years, 90
Barnie, Bill, 81
Barnum, 112
baseball. See also specific topics
Americans improved by, 13
books about, 13, 74, 128, 129
characteristics and unique features, 12–13
compared with other sports, 12–15
demands of, 82
in first half of twentieth century, 40
history, 177
popularity, 14–16
rules, 30, 40–41
skills required in, 14
United States and, 11–15
uplifting qualities, 13
what made it the American national sport, 12
baseball clubs, 105
Baseball Joe books, 128, 129
baseball players. See also athletes; sports heroes
stereotyped as truant dopes, 82
baseball team(s)
first professional, 16
owners of multiple, 17
bat, turn at, 12
batting averages, 40
Bedient, Hugh, 182
beer, 16, 117
Bender, Chief, 119, 121, 163, 167, 189
Blaine, Amory, 138
Boston Americans, 105
Boston Beaneaters, 19–20, 26, 29–30, 68
Boston Braves, 106, 107, 148, 191, 216, 217
Boston Red Sox, 193, 213
vs. Giants in World Series, 179–88
Bostonian fans, 182. See also Royal Rooters
Brannick, Eddie, 152
Braves Field, 191
Brewerytown, 117, 119
Bridwell, Al, 140, 149
Brodie, Steve, 144–45
Bronx Bombers, 212
Brooklyn, 3, 56
Brooklyn Bridegrooms, 42
Brooklyn Superbas, 16–17, 42, 46–47, 87
Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers, 101–2, 132, 154
Giant-Dodger playoff of 1951, 145
Brotherhood, 27
Broun, Heywood, 156
Brouthers, Dan, 152
Brown, Mordecai Peter Centennial “Three-Fingered,” 138, 146, 147
Brush, John (“the Hoosier Wanamaker”), 105, 107, 142, 144, 155
attacked by Freedman, 17
Cincinnati Reds owned by, 29, 60
death, 173
finances, 156
Giants purchased by, 17, 60
Johnson and, 60
locker room built by, 106–7
McGraw and, 60, 105, 173
purification plan, 29
Bucknell College, 20, 32–35, 39, 52, 78, 158, 223
Bucknell University Baseball Team, 35
Bucknell University Football Team, 33
Bulger, Bozeman, 130, 173
Bunyan, John, 198
Burrows, Edwin G., 13
Byron, Bill “Lord,” 192
Camp, Walter, 34, 131
Cantor, Eddie, 30
Carrick, “Doughnut Bill,” 9
“Casey at the Bat” (poem), 49–50
Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 131–32
Catholicism, 51, 131–32
Cedar Rapids Canaries, 80–81
Central Park, 103
Chadwick, Lester. See Stratemeyer, Edward
Chance, Frank, 109, 146, 147
Chase, Prince Hal, 194–95, 201, 203
charm and seductiveness, 178, 201, 206
fixing games, 201–3, 205–6
lack of conscience, 206
Mathewson and, 201–3, 206, 207, 215
McGraw and, 178, 203, 206, 207
as neighbor of McGraws, 178
as playing manager of Yankees, 178
suspended, 203, 205–6
Chemical Warfare Service, 203
Chesbro, Jack, 106, 113
Chicago Cubs, 138–41
beat Tigers in World Series, 148
games won and lost, 106, 137, 148
compared with Giants, 106, 137, 139, 144
vs. Giants, 144–47
Giants game forfeited to, 109
owners, 142–43
Chicago White Sox, 199, 201, 207
Christians, 51, 64. See also Catholicism
muscular, 36, 131
Christy Mathewson Foundation, 223
Cincinnati Red Stockings (“Reds”), 16, 29, 194, 197, 200–201, 207
Clarke, Fred, 108
Cleveland, 80
Cleveland Spiders, 16–17, 41
coaching, 141
Coakley, Andy, 119
Cobb, Ty, 28, 138
batting averages, 114
in Hall of Fame, 115
Mathewson and, 114, 204, 216
on McGraw, 221
McGraw and, 114–15, 219
returned to Tigers, 204
temperament and aggressiveness, 114, 209
World War I and, 203, 204
Cohan, George M., 99, 118, 161
college sports, 58
Colonial Hotel, 10
Colonial Theatre, 173
Comiskey, Charles, 99, 211
Connolly, Tommy, 46, 53–54
Coogan’s Bluff, 102, 103
Coogan’s Hollow, 102, 103
Cooperstown, 224
Corbett, Gentleman Jim (“Pompadour Jim”), 98, 112, 125
Cracker Jack, 102
Crane, Sam Newhall, 136
Cregar, Bess, 214
cricket, 14
Croker, Boss, 5
crowds, 29–30, 68. See also fans
Cuba, 7, 80, 170–71, 194, 214
Cuban-American Jockey Club, 171
Cy Young award, 221–22
Dan Patch, 69
Davis, George, 4, 9, 38, 39, 51
De Soto Hotel, 64, 65
deaf-mutes, 69–70
Decoration Day, 16
Deegan, Billy, 70
Delahanty, Ed, 114
Dempsey, Jack, 210
Detroit Tigers, 53, 148, 204
Devery, William, 63
Devlin, Art, 140
Devore, Josh, 170, 187
Dewey, George, 52
Diamond Café, 7–8, 10, 86, 152
Doheny, Ed, 3
Dolan, Father Joseph F., 81
Donlin, “Turkey Mike,” 106, 121, 125, 194
appointed captain, 139
marauding crowd incited by, 46
McGraw and, 99, 139, 157, 170
overview of, 45
photograph of, 126
violence, arrests, and imprisonment, 53, 157
Dovey, George, 143, 148, 149
Doyle, “Dirty Jack,” 4, 5, 152
Doyle, “Laughing Larry,” 110, 125, 147, 168, 175, 177, 190
Dreyfuss, Ban, 105, 108
drunkenness, 82
Dunne, Finley Peter, 91
Ebbets, Charlie, 143, 149
economic panic of ’93. See financial panic of ’93
Emslie, Bob, 109, 140
endorsements, product, 130, 131
Engle, Clyde, 184
ethnic minorities, 114. See also specific ethnic groups
Evers, Johnny, 140–43
Ewing, Buck, 4
eyesight, 14
Factoryville, Pennsylvania, 76–78, 149
fadeaway pitch, 38–39
fans, 5, 68. See also crowds
Fenway Park, 180–82
fictional literature about baseball, 130. See also poems
films about baseball, 130
finances, 101–2. See also salaries; specific topics
financial panic of ’93, 17
Fitzgerald, John (“Honey Fitz”), 180
Fletcher, Art, 156–57
Fogel, Horace, 51
football, 33
compared with baseball, 12–13
Forsyth Park, 65
Fowler, Gene, 207
Fox, Richard K., 62
freak pitch, 38
Freedman, Andrew, 5, 18, 56, 154
attack on Brush, 17
Brooklyn and, 42
George David and, 4
Giants bought from, 60
Giants purchased by, 17
Horace Fogel and, 51
Mathewson and, 10, 42, 43, 46, 47
McGraw and, 54, 94
media and, 58
negative reputation and criticisms of, 4, 17–18
personality, 17
physical appearance, 17
Frisch, Frankie (“Fordham Flash”), 132, 192
Fuller, 158
Fullerton, Hugh, 29, 207
gambling pools, 177
games, 11, 12
gamesmanship. See muckerism
Gardner, Larry, 185
Gay Nineties, 90, 113
George, King, 174
German-Americans, 44–45, 96–97, 115, 199
Giants. See New York Giants
Girl and the Pennant, The (Mathewson & Young), 130
Goatville, 212
Golden, Harry, 151–52
Grange, Red, 210
Grant, Harvard Eddie, 177, 200
Hall of Fame, 23, 109, 115, 222, 223
hand-eye coordination, 14
Hanlon, “Silent Ned”/“Foxy Ned,” 23–25, 42, 47, 87, 99
Harlem, 5
“Harlemites,” 4
Havana, 80
Henriksen, Olaf “Swede,” 182
Herald Square, 152, 179
heroism, 209, 221–22
sportswriters and, 210
Herrmann, August, 143, 149
Herrmann, Garry, 194, 195, 203
Herzog, Buck, 114, 135, 147, 194, 195
Heydler, John, 87, 205, 206
Hickman, Charley “Piano Legs,” 3–4
Highlanders, 56, 63, 106
Hilltop Park, 63, 103–4
hit-and-run, 26
Hitchcock, Tommy, 210
Hofman, “Circus” Solly, 140
Hogan, Shanty, 158–59
Holmes, Ducky, 17–18
home plate, configuration of, 41
Honig, Donald, 124–25
Hooper, Harry, 184
Hoppe, Willie, 152
Hopper, DeWolf, 49, 115, 116, 125
Hopper, Hedda, 49
horse racing, 23, 69
Hurst, Tim, 9
industrial revolution, 15
Inter-League Series, 112
Iowa, 80
Irish, 18–20, 44, 45, 97–100, 159. See also McGraw
Jackson, “Shoeless Joe,” 114
Jennings, Hughie, 92, 149
background and life history, 81
batting averages, 24
Brooklyn and, 42
in Hall of Fame, 23
on Mathewson, 168
McGraw and, 24, 81, 83, 86, 172
pitching and, 81
Jews, 96–97. See also anti-Semitism
Johnson, Byron Bancroft “Ban,” 93, 105
in Baltimore, 43–44
Brush on, 60
death, 212
McGraw and, 43, 45, 46, 53, 56, 212
McGraw on, 54
moved Orioles to New York, 63
violent behavior and, 53
Western League taken over by, 31
Johnson, Walter, 115, 154, 219
Johnstone, James, 109
Jones, Bobby, 210
Joyce, Bill, 18
Jupiter Pluvius, 167
Keeler, “Wee Willie”
batting averages, 25
Brooklyn and, 42
death, 25
in Hall of Fame, 23
as Highlanders’ top hitter, 106
McGraw and, 83, 94, 106
McGraw’s fight with, 86–87
in Orioles, 25–27
physical description, 25
Keith, Mary Catherine, 30
Kelle
y, Joe, 20, 23–25, 42, 83
Kelly, J. T., 109
Kelly, Joe. See Kelley, Joe
Kelly, Mike “King,” 19–20, 26
Klem, Bill (“The Great Arbitrator”), 168, 194
Kling, Johnny, 147
Knickerbocker, Diedrich, 120
Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, 14
Knickerbockers, 18
Kroh, Rube, 141
La Floridita Bar, 80
Lajoie, Larry, 114
Lambs Club, 144, 211–12
Landis, Judge, 153, 217, 221
Lardner, Ring, 104, 112, 176, 185, 196, 207, 209
left-handed players, 106
Leitner, George, 70
Lewis, Duffy, 185
Lewisburg, 223–24
Lieb, Fred, 201
Louisville Colonels, 16, 41
Macbeth, W. J., 149
Mack, Connie. See McGillicuddy, Cornelius
major league teams, 17
managers, 4
Marquard, Rube, 157, 180
vs. Chief Bender, 189
on Mathewson, 36
as number-two Giant pitcher, 69
photograph of, 181
replaced McGinnity as pitcher, 161
violence, 157