In a game played by toughs, and often run by tougher men, Christy Mathewson was the exception: a college-educated, Christian gentleman who never drank, swore, or cheated, and who pitched with the calm certainty that he could not lose. To millions of boys growing up at the turn of the century, Mathewson was a hero—a role model in an era that seemed short of them. In an age when baseball was still looked down upon by the respectable classes, he gave the game a new dignity and made it safe for those same people to admire it.

However, his life and career were tragically cut short by illness. He went to war with the same sense of duty that had marked his entire career, but during a training exercise, he was accidentally exposed to mustard gas. Though he returned home, his lungs were damaged, and he was never the same. Over the next few years, tuberculosis would slowly sap his strength, leading to his death in 1925. Despite his untimely passing, Mathewson left behind a legacy that symbolized baseball’s potential for greatness, integrity, and honor. To this day, he remains one of the most beloved figures in the history of the game.