The Player: Christy Mathewson, Baseball, and the American Century

Christy Mathewson (1880-1925) was baseball's first superstar pitcher who still ranks among the all-time leaders in wins, earned run average, and shutouts. Mathewson was in the first group elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, with Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, and Walter Johnson. At a time when professional ballplayers were regarded as hard-living rogues, Matty was a soft-spoken college boy who espoused clean living and did more than any other athlete to elevate the place of sports in American life. Parents longed for their children to model their lives after his. He even wrote children's books to help instill the values of hard work and determination. With a diverse cast of characters including Teddy Roosevelt, Edith Wharton and Scott Fitzgerald, The Player is an exciting, cinematic evocation of a singular American life — and what that life means today. Photographs are featured.