Christopher “Christy” Mathewson (August 12, 1880 – October 7, 1925), nicknamed “Big Six”, “The Christian Gentleman”, “Matty”, and “The Gentleman’s Hurler” was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who played 17 seasons with the New York Giants. He was among the most dominant pitchers in baseball history, and ranks in the all-time top ten in several key pitching categories, including wins, shutouts, and ERA. In fact, he is the only professional pitcher in history to rank in the top ten both in career wins and in career ERA, if taking 19th century pitchers statistics into account. Otherwise, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson would hold the distinction of being the only two pitchers ranked in both the top ten in career wins and career ERA  In 1936, Mathewson was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame, as one of its first five members. Christy Mathewson grew up in Factoryville, Pennsylvania, and began playing semiprofessional baseball when he was 14 years old. He played in the minor leagues in 1899, recording a record of 21 wins and two losses. He pitched for the New York Giants the next season but was sent back to the minors. He would eventually return to the Giants and go on to win 373 games in his career, a National League record. He led the Giants to victory in the 1905 World Series by pitching three shutouts. Christy Mathewson never pitched on Sundays, owing to his Christian beliefs. Mathewson served in the United States Army’s Chemical Warfare Service in World War I, and was accidentally exposed to chemical weapons during training. His respiratory system was weakened from the exposure, causing him to contract tuberculosis, from which he died in Saranac Lake, New York. in 1925.