{"product_id":"baseballs-first-superstar-the-lost-life-story-of-christy-mathewson-hardcover","title":"Baseball's First Superstar: The Lost Life Story of Christy Mathewson - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAlan D. Gaff\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf there was a first face of baseball, it was arguably Christopher \"Christy\" Mathewson. At the opening of the twentieth century, baseball was considered an undignified game played by ruffians for gamblers' benefit. Mathewson changed all that. When he signed with the Giants in 1900, his contract stated he wouldn't pitch on Sundays, and he was known for his honesty, integrity, and good looks. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In his first fourteen seasons, as a pitcher for the Giants, Mathewson never won fewer than twenty games in a season, and he almost single-handedly won the 1905 World Series. In 1918, though age thirty-eight and exempt from military service, he enlisted for World War I, where he exposed himself to nearly lethal amounts of mustard gas as he taught soldiers how to put on gas masks. When he returned home, he was diagnosed with lung problems and tuberculosis, which led to his untimely death at the age of forty-five. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e After Mathewson's death, his eulogies were many, but it was impossible to catch the essence of his life in a single newspaper column. Jane Mathewson, his widow, was determined to provide the reading public with a more intimate portrait of her husband and approached prominent sportswriter Bozeman Bulger, who had known Mathewson for twenty years. Bulger wrote a series of articles titled \"The Life Story of Christy Mathewson.\" His portraits about the player were amplified by original accounts from Jane, and several unpublished chapters from Mathewson himself, which had been discovered among his papers. These combined accounts allow readers to hear from Mathewson and those who knew him best. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e A superstar long before that term was coined, Mathewson became an icon of sportsmanship. He was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame at its first induction ceremony in 1936. In \u003ci\u003eBaseball's First Superstar\u003c\/i\u003e Alan D. Gaff brings Mathewson to life through Mathewson's own writings and those of others, largely lost to history until now. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlan D. Gaff\u003c\/b\u003e is an independent scholar and the author of many books, including \u003ci\u003eLou Gehrig: The Lost Memoir\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBayonets in the Wilderness\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBlood in the Argonne\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eOn Many a Bloody Field\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Indiana. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 248\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.99 x 9.07 x 6.3 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 01, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51978232496429,"sku":"9781496243270","price":31.35,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/Zo3Nrff0wM9781496243270.webp?v=1775801165","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/baseballs-first-superstar-the-lost-life-story-of-christy-mathewson-hardcover","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}