The Player: Christy Mathewson, Baseball, and the American Century

Library Journal

A monument at Bucknell University to baseball great Christy Mathewson reads "Athlete, soldier, gentleman," and no description could be more appropriate. The attractive, college-educated Mathewson had a reputation for clean living and professionalism at a time when most ballplayers were viewed as thugs. He played almost his entire major league career for the New York Giants, only to leave the game to serve his country in World War I. Seib (Lucius W. Nieman Professor of Journalism, Marquette Univ.) does an excellent job of capturing the Progressive Era in which Mathewson played, providing an entertaining and informative backdrop to his subject's progression from talented teenager in rural Factoryville, PA, to a symbol of sportsmanship admired by adults and children nationwide. Seib peppers his book with such real characters as the ball-playing evangelist Billy Sunday, as well as major events such as the World Series scandal of 1919. Unfortunately, because Mathewson died young, at age 45, this biography is relatively short, leaving readers to imagine what motivated him. Recommended for academic and public libraries.-Catherine Collins, Texas A&M Univ., Commerce Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.