Christy Mathewson: Bucknell’s Very Own MLB Legend

In 1900, a football soared through the air to make a 45 yard dropkick field goal against Army West Point. Immediately, the press was all over it, hitting every city in the nation. This was just three of the 106 field goal points “Matty” would make during his career. While he is known to be one of the greatest baseball players of all-time, Christy Mathewson was more than just a heavy hitter.

Mathewson did it all for the Bison. He was an all-American punter, a strong fullback, dominant on the basketball court, and a legend in the baseball diamond. Today, Bucknell University’s football stadium is named Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium in his legacy. When built in 1924, it held 18,000 spectators, the largest stadium of its kind in Pennsylvania at the time.

Not only did Mathewson excel athletically, but he also set the standard for student-athletes in the classroom. While on scholarship, he was a 4.0 student, class president, member of literary societies, and even joined the glee club. His favorite past times were bridge and checkers. A religious man, Mathewson always carried a Bible with him wherever he went.

Mathewson is most known for his baseball career. He played 16 years with the New York Giants and one year with the Cincinnati Reds. He served as manager for Cincinnati between 1816 and 1818. On the mound, he recorded 2,507 career strikeouts and 79 shut outs as a pitcher. Matty posted a career .215 batting average with 151 runs, seven home runs, and 167 runs batted in. Mathewson held a cumulative .665 winning percentage, the highest the MLB had seen for a single player at the time.

When the world collapsed into World War I, 38 year-old Mathewson was exempt from service but enlisted anyway. He taught soldiers how to put on gas masks in dangerous situations. By accident, Mathewson was exposed to a near lethal amount of mustard gas in 1918, which permanently damaged his lungs.

Mathewson passed away in 1925 when he contracted a cold shortly after a tuberculosis infection that his compromised lungs just could not handle. He is buried in the Lewisburg Cemetery right behind the Kenneth Langone Athletics & Recreation Center.

“He stayed close to his roots.” said head coach of the current Bison baseball program Scoot Heather. “I think his wife lived here in Lewisburg and was from Lewisburg. I know for a time before he got sick that he was back here and was obviously buried in Lewisburg.”

Coach Scott Heather on Christy Mathewson’s ties to Lewisburg and Bucknell

In 1927, Major League Baseball paid $22,064.95 in order for the Christy Mathewson Memorial Gates to be built on Bucknell’s Campus. The gates have significant meaning to the students. A sense of accomplishment and appreciation overwhelm first years when they walk through the gates during their first week, and walk back out of them at graduation.

Coach Scott Heather uses the gates as a way to share the character of Bucknell University when he hosts recruits. “He is known as a gentleman and scholar type approach” Heather said. “That’s still our approach too, you know, we want guys to reach their potential both academically and athletically and be well-rounded. He was kind of one of the first to be known for that.”

Coach Scott Heather on Team Culture and the Christy Mathewson Gates

One of the greatest athletes to ever step foot on Bucknell’s campus will forever be remembered by his stadium, gates, and grave all in the same square mile of Lewisburg. A member of Bucknell’s 1979 Hall of Fame class, his name will survive history for generations to come.

To read more about Christy Mathewson, please feel free to check out the works available at Bertrand Library and online below in the bibliography.

Bibliography:

Brunt, Larry. “Christy Mathewson: The First Face of Baseball.” National Baseball Hall of Fame, 2024, baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/short-stops/christy-mathewson-first-face-of-baseball.

Bucknell University. “Christy Mathewson – Hall of Fame.” Bucknell University Athletics, 2024, bucknellbison.com/sports/hall-of-fame/roster/christy-mathewson/4201.

Heydler, John A. Received by Dr. E. W. Hunt, No. 8 West Fortieth Street, 4 June 1928, New York City, New York.

Oliphant, James Orin. The Rise of Bucknell University. Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1965.