Robert T. Mathews (November 21, 1851 – April 17, 1898) was an American right-handed professional baseball pitcher who played in the

National Association of Professional Base Ball Players The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP), often known simply as the National Association (NA), was the first fully- professional sports league in baseball. The NA was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 se ...

, the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

and the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

for twenty years beginning in the late 1860s. He is credited as being one of the inventors of the

spitball A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance such as saliva or petroleum jelly. This technique alters the wind resistance and weight on one side of the ball, causing it to mo ...

pitch, which was rediscovered or reintroduced to the major leagues after he died. He is also credited with the first legal pitch which broke away from the batter. He is listed at 5 feet 5 inches tall and 140 pounds, which is small for a pro athlete even in his time, when the

average height Human height or stature is the distance from the bottom of the feet to the top of the head in a human body, standing erect. It is measured using a stadiometer, in centimetres when using the metric system or SI system, or feet and inches when us ...

of an American male in the mid-19th century was 5 foot 7.

Career

Mathews was born in 1851, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and he played as a teenager with the Maryland club of that city, and he made the team a dangerous one. Mathews began his career at the age of 16 for the Marylands of Baltimore (a junior squad) in 1868. A year later, he moved to the senior club, and the following year the club declared themselves professional, resulting in the creation of the National Association of Base Ball Players (NAABP). On August 19, he made his first ever start in the league against the Orientals of New York, winning 28-15. For the 1871 season, he and some other Maryland players signed with the

Fort Wayne Kekiongas The Fort Wayne Kekiongas were a professional baseball team, notable for winning the first professional league game on May 4, 1871. Though based in Fort Wayne, they were usually listed in game reports as simply "Kekionga" or "the Kekiongas", per the ...

. On May 4, 1871 in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

, he pitched a

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in the inaugural game of the

(NA), the first professional league. In his first season, he went 6-11 in 19 complete games and 169 innings, with a 5.17 ERA, 17 strikeouts and 21 walks. In the following season (now playing for the Baltimore Canaries), he rebounded with a 25-18 record in 49 games (while throwing 39 complete games) and 406 innings while having a 3.19 ERA, 52 walks and 57 strikeouts, the latter being a league high. He appeared as a batter in 19 games for 89 at-bats, batting .270 with 10 RBIs and a .612 OPS, with the latter two being career highs. Mathews went to the New York Mutuals alongside teammate Dick Higham after the season ended. In 1873, he played in 52 out of the 53 games the team played for the season (while throwing 47 complete games), going 29-23 with a 2.58 ERA in 443 innings with 62 walks (a career high) and 79 strikeouts, although the team finished 4th. One notable game was on July 3, when he allowed only two hits in a six inning rain-shortened game against Washington while scoring a run on a triple in a 2-1 win. However, research in recent years has alleged match-fixing over suspicious play during a game in the season. In a game on August 9, 1873, he was the losing pitcher in a 12-2 washout by the Brooklyn Atlantics in which they scored four runs to open up the game in the first inning. For 1874, he pitched in all 65 games of the season for the Mutuals (while throwing 62 complete games), throwing 578 innings while having a 42-22 record and a 1.90 ERA (a career low), 41 walks and 101 strikeouts, although the Mutuals finished 2nd place to the Boston Red Stockings. He also threw 32 wild pitches, a career high. On June 18, he pitched in a 38-1 victory over Chicago while allowing two hits in a game with severe wind conditions. A second accusation of match-fixing occurred in the season, as one player was seen in the company of a gambler in the area of Chicago on the August 5 home game, where the odds shifted towards Chicago. Mathews left in the fifth inning on a groin injury while leading 4-2, with John Hatfield serving to pitch the rest of the game and losing the game 5-4. After the game, it was revealed that Chicago had known the possibility of Mathews not playing due to a doctor's note the Mutuals produced certifying his play despite a warning. For 1875, he pitched in 70 out of 71 of New York's games (while having 69 complete matches) in the final year in the NA. However, he went 29-38 with a 2.49 ERA on 625.2 innings with 75 strikeouts and 20 walks. Additionally, he allowed career highs in hits (711), runs (421), and batters faced (2,759). He led the league in complete games, starts, and innings pitched. He appeared in a career high 70 games as a batter, making 264 at-bats and garnering 48 hits and 15 RBIs for a .182 batting average and a .188 OBP. He threw a one-hitter on May 22 in a 4-0 win over Brooklyn in which he faced just 28 batters on no errors. Overall, he went 131-112 in the NA. with his wins being third most in the league behind

Albert Spalding Albert Goodwill Spalding (September 2, 1849 – September 9, 1915) was an American pitcher, manager, and executive in the early years of professional baseball, and the co-founder of A.G. Spalding sporting goods company. He was born and raised ...

(205) and Dick McBride (149). He led the Association in career amount of strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings. For 1876, he played in 56 out of 57 games for the Mutuals while going 21-34 with a 2.86 ERA with 55 complete games on 516 innings while having 37 strikeouts and 24 walks. During the season, he turned over a telegram that was sent from a gambler, with a sting being set up to try and lure more out of the gambler, with the results being published in the

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...

to try and discourage any more game-fixings. In his three years with New York, he had gone 100-83 with a 2.31 ERA on 1,646.2 innings, with 266 strikeouts. The dissolving of the Mutuals meant that Mathews joined the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

for 1877. His season went terribly, going 3-12 in 15 games (13 complete) with a 4.04 ERA on 129.1 innings pitched with 9 strikeouts and 17 walks. After the season, he joined a team in Janesville in the League Alliance. For 1878, he bounced around between the independent Brooklyn Chelseas and Worcester (a member of the International Association). He was plagued by drunkenness, which led to him being expelled from the latter team in July, to the point where he was replaced by Bud Fowler. He went 8-12 before Worcester left the league. Along with other members, they played as the Baltimore Waverlys for a few games. On October 15, he signed with the Providence Grays, joining the club in June of the 1879 season. In 27 games played for the Grays (with 15 complete ones pitched), he went 12-6 with a 2.29 ERA on 189 innings pitched, throwing 90 strikeouts and 26 walks. He also earned a save during the season. He additionally played 21 games for the Grays as an outfielder, logging in 182 innings with 17 putouts, five assists, and seven errors with one double play turned on a .759 fielding percentage. On June 27, he hit a home run off Boston pitcher Tommy Bond, his only career home run. The Grays won the

pennant that year, doing so by five games over the

Boston Red Caps The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

. After a short stint in the Pacific League with the San Francisco Stars, he signed back with Providence prior to the 1881 season. In 14 starts, he went 4-8 with a 3.17 ERA in 102.1 innings while allowing 21 walks and 28 strikeouts. He was released mid-way through the season due to problems with drinking that troubled the club. He joined Boston not long after, serving time as an outfielder in 18 games and a pitcher for five games, four in relief. He won the only game he started for the team. Ultimately, he threw just 23 innings while getting two saves, 11 walks and five strikeouts. For 1882, he participated in 34 games as a pitcher, going 19-15 with a 2.87 ERA, throwing 31 complete games in 285 innings with 153 strikeouts and 22 walks, with his strikeout total being the most in his career thus far. He joined the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

in the American Association the following year. He returned to form, going 30-13 with a 2.46 ERA in 44 games pitched while having 41 complete games with 381 innings pitched while walking 31 and striking out 203 batters. The team won the pennant that year over

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

by one game. He went 30-18 with a 3.32 ERA in 49 games the following year, throwing 430.2 innings with 286 strikeouts and 57 walks. The next year, he won 30 games again while losing only 17 in 48 starts with a 2.43 ERA on 422.1 innings pitched. He struck out 286 batters with 57 walks. He served as coach for the pitchers at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1886 while playing with the Athletics. Arm trouble diminished his season, as he pitched in just 24 games while going 13-9 with a 3.96 ERA on 197.2 innings, with 93 strikeouts and 53 walks. 1887 was his final year in the leagues. He started it by holding out in the spring to get the money back that had been deducted the earlier year for ineffectiveness. They agreed to a deal that would give him a $2,650 salary, but his arm was diminished. His seven appearances as a pitcher were spread out over the season. He went 3-4 with a 6.67 ERA while throwing 58 innings and allowing 25 walks and nine strikeouts. In his final game on October 10, he pitched a 7-5 loss to the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers. For 1888, his attempts to try and get back on the team failed, although he did serve as coach for the team's pitchers and played on the reserve squad. In his five years with the club, he had gone 106-61 with a 3.06 ERA while pitching 1,489.2 innings and garnering 877 strikeouts.

After baseball

Mathews umpired a few games between 1871 and 1888 and signed with the regular staff of the

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...

in 1890, returning to the AA in 1891.

Legacy

Over his 16-year career, he had 297 wins, 248 losses, 525

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, with a career

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 2.86. He had 1,528

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s compared with 532 walks. He won 20 games 8 times, including 42 in 1874 with the

New York Mutuals The Mutual Base Ball Club of New York was a leading American baseball club almost throughout its 20-year history. It was established during 1857, the year of the first baseball convention, just too late to be a founding member of the National Asso ...

of the National Association, and is the only player to win 50 games or to pitch 100 games in each of three major leagues. He is the 25th winningest pitcher in MLB history, yet has the 2nd highest number of wins for a pitcher ''not'' elected to the Hall of Fame and the most career innings pitched for a pitcher not elected to the Hall of Fame. He is also the pitcher with the highest number of wins without reaching 300. Although he was known primarily as a pitcher (doing so for 578 games), he also played games in other positions from time to time, playing 80 games in the outfield, nine as a third baseman and two as a shortstop.

Death

Mathews died in 1898 in Baltimore, at the age of 46, of

paresis In medicine, paresis () is a condition typified by a weakness of voluntary movement, or by partial loss of voluntary movement or by impaired movement. When used without qualifiers, it usually refers to the limbs, but it can also be used to desc ...

caused by

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...

, and is interred at

New Cathedral Cemetery The New Cathedral Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery, with 125 acres, located on the westside of Baltimore, Maryland, at 4300 Old Frederick Road. It is the final resting place of 110,000 people, including numerous individuals who played import ...

, also in Baltimore.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathews, Bobby 1851 births 1898 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Baltimore Marylands (NABBP) players Fort Wayne Kekiongas players Baltimore Canaries players Boston Red Caps players Cincinnati Reds (1876–1879) players New York Mutuals players Philadelphia Athletics (AA) players Providence Grays players Columbus Buckeyes (minor league) players Lynn Live Oaks players Worcester (minor league baseball) players Baseball players from Baltimore