The New York Giants lost the 1912 World Series but it could hardly be blamed on Christy Mathewson. The ace of John McGraw’s squad tossed three complete games and kept an ERA of under 1.00.
It was par for the course for Matty, who was nearing the twilight of his career but remained one of the game’s top pitchers, winning more 20 games for the tenth time in 12 straight seasons. From 1901 through 1914, his earned run average never climbed above 3.00.
Among those he counted as good friends around the game was photographer Charles Conlon who was always around the ballpark, taking what are known today as some of the greatest images ever developed.
One such picture of Mathewson is among the top items in RMY Auctions’ Fall Premier event. The 6 ½” x 8 ½” photo, taken during that pennant-winning 1912 season, is just the second to be offered publicly.
The back contains Conlon’s hand-written player identification at the top and a stamp from the Cleveland News, where the photo resided in an archive for decades.
RMY’s November Premier Auction includes over 1,200 vintage sports and other types of photographs including 500 taken by Conlon, considered to be America’s first sports photojournalists. Bidding concludes December 5 at RMYAuctions.com.
