Christy or Henry?

[baseballart]

This doesn't look like Christy to me, despite the "C. Mathewson".

It's a 1906 Giants folding postcard set. Could this be Henry who was briefly on the team in 1906?




Or is my eyesight just worse than I thought?


Max

[trdcrdkid]

It's hard to tell at this resolution, but I agree that that doesn't look like Christy. Are there photos of Henry Mathewson somewhere?

That photo of Dummy Taylor is the one used for his T206.

[trdcrdkid]

Here's a picture of Henry Mathewson. That does look like him in your picture, much more than Christy.

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/1253b17f

[pherbener]

It does look more like Henry than Christy but I doubt Henry would've been included on a 1906 schedule since he debuted at the very end of the 1906 season.

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by pherbener

It does look more like Henry than Christy but I doubt Henry would've been included on a 1906 schedule since he debuted at the very end of the 1906 season.

I don't know if it's Henry or not, but he was with the Giants in Spring Training and came north with the team, just didn't play anything except exhibition games.

[JeremyW]

This might be him.

[baseballart]

I'll post a better resolution when I get the item in hand. It's part of an 18 player photo folding card set. Rip 'em apart and slab 'em! Presto! A new card set! (just kidding of course)

[ls7plus]

Definitely doesn't look like Christy.

Best regards,

Larry

[trdcrdkid]

To me, the postcard definitely looks like Henry in both the picture I posted and the one JeremyW posted. From the SABR bio I posted a link to:

"In the spring of 1906, the Chicago National League Base Ball Club desired Henry as a member of their team, but “Hank” refused the offer, preferring to join his brother with the New York Giants. Perhaps with some twisting of his arm by Christy, Manager John McGraw extended an invitation to Henry to join the Giants’ spring training camp in Marlin, Texas. It may also have been that Christy was ill with diphtheria for a good part of the season, and McGraw figured that he needed a Mathewson in the ranks to sell tickets.

Hank’s young battery mate was a different “Matty,” Matthew Fitzgerald of Albany, New York, who appeared in 11 games over 2 years with the Giants in 1906 and 1907 before being released. With Henry’s name inked to an agreement with the Giants, the newspapers took notice of the younger Mathewson. Headlines, the like of which proclaimed the coming of the next “Matty”, started appearing in New York and were taken up by other papers across the country due to the popularity of the elder Mathewson. This attention from the press would continue to follow Hank throughout his career.

While there may not have been much excitement in the southern portion of spring training, Henry certainly found excitement upon his arrival in New York. Henry and fellow young pitcher Cecil Ferguson were captivated by the New York skyline as seen from the New Jersey shore. The veterans on the team had to corral the youngsters to make sure that the two made it onto the ferry safely. A few nights later, after seeing their names in the city’s newspaper and feeling a little cosmopolitan, Cecil and Hank decided to head to the bright lights of Broadway from their quarters on 126th Street. Upon their return home, they got off the subway at 125th Street and Broadway. Not seeing any recognizable landmarks, the pair started walking aimlessly and became hopelessly lost. They had to hire a cab to deliver them to their home. Arriving home, they discovered that their teammates had noticed the disappearance of the boys, and sounded the alarm to begin a search. As a result, McGraw assigned chaperones; with catcher William “Doc” Marshall being in charge of handling Henry and pitcher Joe McGinnity responsible for Cecil’s passage through the streets of New York until the two could be educated as to how to navigate the subway system.

The younger Mathewson was largely ineffective in the exhibition games, even against college competition. As a result, Hank was assigned to the Giants’ bench to observe and gain experience. Family in high places among the Giants apparently had its privileges. The members of the 1905 championship team were photographed for a series of cabinet cards bearing the images of the players at the Polo Grounds with the words “World Champions” printed across the bottom of the cards. Hank was photographed for this series even though he spent 1905 back in Factoryville."