The New York Giants had been to the last two World Series only to come up short. Would the third time finally be the charm? After all, Christy Mathewson wasn’t getting any younger.
As he prepared to once again lead his club into the 1913 post-season, photographers stopped to grab photos of the popular pitcher. The image of Mathewson, wearing the heavy warmup sweater common to the era, has been seen before but not until now has an original hit the auction block.
The RMY Auctions Photo of the Day is a 3 ½ x 5” gem from the archives of legendary lensman George Grantham Bain. Mathewson is shown posing with a dark-colored ball during warmups at the jam-packed Polo Grounds. His name, carrying the common misspelling “Matthewson” was hand-printed at the top for identification purposes. The back of the photo is stamped with the 1914 file date.
It’s one of dozens of Bain photos, many dating back more than 100 years that will be sold Saturday night at RMYAuctions.com.
The 33-year-old Mathewson won 25 games during the 1913 regular season. In the World Series, the former Bucknell pitcher matched up with his college rival, Eddie Plank, who played at Gettysburg. They met in Game 2 with Mathewson outlasting Plank in ten innings after driving in the go-ahead run in the 10th. With the Giants needing a win in Game 5, though, Plank would prevail, 3-1, handing the Giants a third straight World Series defeat.
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