This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/7/2018
While the great Ty Cobb was portrayed as an ornery competitor who would do anything to win, even if it meant bending a few unwritten rules and making some enemies in the process, hurler Christy Mathewson was just the opposite; a complete gentleman in every sense. A graduate of Bucknell college, Mathewson brought sophistication and civility to a game with a reputation for fostering hooliganism. He also brought the most tantalizing repertoire of pitches that baseball had seen to date. After compiling an 18-2 record with an insane 0.74 ERA over 183 innings of minor league ball at age 19, the New York Giants inserted Mathewson into their lineup for the 1901 season and he promptly delivered the first of his thirteen 20+ win seasons over his 17-year career and posted a combined 64-47 record and 2.27 ERA over his first three campaigns despite leading the league in wild pitches each season. Once he got his location under control, "Big Six" tore up the league with a 273-107 record and 1.87 ERA over the next decade, leading the league in wins four times and claiming at least 20 victories each season. Shortly after his finishing up his illustrious career, Mathewson enlisted in the United States Army for World War I and was accidently exposed to mustard gas during a chemical training exercise in France, making him susceptible to infections and he subsequently developed tuberculosis. His death in 1925 at the age of 45 leaves an inadequate supply of examples of his harmonious signature compared to the demand. This featured handwritten check from Adirondack National Bank is dated June 6th, 1922, just three seasons prior to his passing. Mathewson has signed the bottom of the check in traditional black fountain pen, a wonderfully crisp penning that is virtually perfect and earns a grade of MINT 9 by PSA/DNA. The check is well-preserved with cancellation hole punches through the center that in no way impede upon Mathewson’s autograph. For any advanced autograph collector, this is one of the finest examples in existence.