Christopher Mathewson (1979) - Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame

Christopher Mathewson

Induction:
1979
Class:
1902

The most famous of all Bucknell athletes and one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Christy Mathewson was better known at BU as a hard hitting fullback and outstanding kicker. "Matty" was one of the five original members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., but gained his initial athletic fame as a fullback, punter and dropkicker at Bucknell from 1898-1900. One of the truly outstanding players of his era, Mathewson kicked a point after touchdown in the first varsity game of his freshman year, and in the next three years added 13 touchdowns and eight field goals. Mathewson gained national attention when he dropkicked two field goals against Pennsylvania in 1899 and added a 45-yard field goal against Army the following year. As a result, he was named the "12th man" on Walter Camp's 1900 All-America team. Reports in Bucknell files indicate that Mathewson practiced his dropkicking hour after hour, and these reports also note that his punting was exceptional throughout his career, a three-year stretch during which he scored 106 points. He was also a punishing runner, and one game account makes note of a 65-yard touchdown run and a 70-yard kickoff return. Mathewson, who also played baseball and basketball at Bucknell, was also well-known as a gentleman and a true scholar-athlete. He was president of his class and a member of the glee club. Bucknell's Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium is named in his honor, and he is buried in the cemetery just behind the Kenneth Langone Athletics & Recreation Center.

Mathewson's professional baseball achievements are almost innumerable. The first pitcher in the 20th century to win 30 games in three successive years, he was a 20-game winner for 12 straight seasons and averaged 25 wins per year over a span of 15 seasons. In the 1905 World Series, he cemented his legendary status by pitching three shutouts in a six-day span. Grantland Rice wrote, "He was something more than a great pitcher. He was one of those rare characters who appeal to the millions through a magnetic personality attached to clean honesty and underlying loyalty to a cause." A classmate at Bucknell said, "It was because of his qualities of heart and mind, rather than skill of arm and fingers, that he won the affection of Americans, young and old.
(Bucknell Hall of Fame Class of 1979)