Bucknell University Athletics
Christy Mathewson to be Honored as Part of Lewisburg's Independence Day Celebration
6/20/2011 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 20, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Union County Veterans Fourth of July Committee and Bucknell University are collaborating this week to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first inductees into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Inaugural members of the Hall of Fame were Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner and Christy Mathewson, a member of Bucknell's Class of 1902.
The celebration kicks off with a performance of "Matty: An Evening with Christy Mathewson," on Thursday, June 23, at 7 p.m. in the Lewisburg High School. Actor Eddie Frierson returns to Lewisburg to portray the 20th century All-American hero in a highly regarded one-man play.
Tickets for "Matty" are $10 for adults, and $5 for children under 12; children must be accompanied by an adult. Proceeds from the play benefit the Lewisburg Cemetery, where Mathewson is buried. Tickets are available in advance at Coldwell Banker Penn One Real Estate and The Mercantile, or at the door prior to the performance.
The Christy Mathewson Gate will be rededicated on Friday, June 24, with a service at 3:30 p.m. in Rooke Chapel at Bucknell. The service will be followed by the placing of a wreath on Christy's grave. The gate is located near the main entrance of campus, adjacent to Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, and was originally presented by organized baseball in Mathewson's memory in 1928 with a dedication led by Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, commissioner of baseball, and attended by Mathewson's son, Christy Jr.
The celebration concludes on Saturday, June 25, with the 17th Annual Union County Veterans Fourth of July Parade. In character as Christy Mathewson, Parade Marshall Frierson will be joined by parade guests Cindy Cobb McGowin, the granddaughter of Ty Cobb; Hank Johnson Thomas, the grandson of Walter Johnson; Linda Ruth Tossetti, the granddaughter of Babe Ruth; Leslie Wagner Roberts, the granddaughter of Honus Wagner; and David Roberts, an active member of the U.S. Navy and great-grandson of Honus Wagner.
The parade will begin at 10 a.m. at the Lewisburg High School and travel down Market Street to South Third Street before ending at the President's Grove at Bucknell for a veterans recognition ceremony at 11:30 a.m. and a picnic and band concert beginning at noon.
Mathewson, who was born in Factoryville, Pa., was not only one of the preeminent athletes of his era, but he helped dispel the popular notion at the time that elite sportsmen could not also be well-educated gentlemen.
During his days at Bucknell from 1898 to 1901, Mathewson was a three-sport star in baseball, basketball and football, and he actually gained his most fame as a collegian as an All-America kicker and fullback on the gridiron. But he was more than just an athlete at Bucknell. Mathewson was a member of the band and glee club, he served as historian of his freshman class and as president of his junior class. He was also a member of the Eupian Literary Society and Theta Delta Tau, a men's honorary leadership society.
Mathewson left Bucknell in 1901 to pursue his burgeoning baseball career, and he went on to help the New York Giants win four pennants during his 14-year tenure with the club. His performance in the 1905 World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics is still considered one of the most remarkable pitching feats of all time. He pitched three shutouts in a five-day span to lead the Giants to the title.
With a lifetime record of 373-188 to go along with 79 shutouts, 2,502 strikeouts and a career earned-run average of 2.13, Mathewson was elected as one of five original members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame in 1979 as part of its inaugural class, and in 2007 he joined the College Baseball Hall of Fame along with fellow veteran inductees Lou Gehrig (Columbia), Joe Sewell (Alabama) and John "Jack" Barry (Holy Cross).
Mathewson married Jane Stoughton, a native of Lewisburg and a graduate of the Bucknell Female Institute, in 1902. Their son, Christy Jr., who was born in 1906, graduated from Bucknell in 1927. In 1918, Mathewson enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving in the Chemical Service with Ty Cobb. He died in 1925 and is buried in the Lewisburg Cemetery, alongside his wife and son.
The Union County Veterans Fourth of July Committee also is sponsoring a Freedom Ride beginning in Factoryville at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 23. The bicycle ride, which honors veterans, wounded warriors, Paralympic athletes and patriots, will conclude in Lewisburg on Saturday with riders participating in the parade.
Other events include the concert, "If You Knew Sousa" by the Allentown Band, America's oldest continuous concert band since 1828, Friday, June 24, at 7 p.m. in Wolfe Field on North Water Street. The performance will be followed by a fireworks extravaganza at Wolfe Field at 9 p.m., sponsored by RiverWoods, and the "Stars and Stripes Forever" concert by the Penn Central Wind Band, conducted by William Kenny, on Wednesday June 29, at 7:30 p.m. in Hufnagle Park.
For more information, visit http://www.unioncountyveterans4thofjuly.com/
.jpg&height=340&type=webp)
