Bobby Mathews

For the Indian Army officer, see Bobby Mathews (general).

Bobby Mathews
Pitcher
Born: (1851-11-21)November 21, 1851
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Died: April 17, 1898(1898-04-17) (aged 46)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 4, 1871, for the Fort Wayne Kekiongas
Last MLB appearance
October 10, 1887, for the Philadelphia Athletics
MLB statistics
Win–loss record297-248
Earned run average2.86
Strikeouts1,528
Teams
  NAPBBP
Baltimore Marylands (1869–1870)
Fort Wayne Kekiongas (1871)
Baltimore Canaries (1872)
New York Mutuals (1873–1875)
  National League
New York Mutuals (1876)
Cincinnati Reds (1877)
Providence Grays (1879, 1881)
Boston Red Caps (1881–1882)
  American Association
Philadelphia Athletics (1883–1887)
Career highlights and awards
  • Won first NA game on May 4, 1871
  • NL champion (1879)
  • AA champion (1883)

Robert T. Mathews (November 21, 1851 – April 17, 1898) was an American right-handed professional baseball pitcher who played in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, the National League of Major League Baseball and the American Association for twenty years beginning in the late 1860s. He is credited as being one of the inventors of the spitball pitch,[1][2] in each of three major leagues,[1] which was rediscovered or reintroduced to the major leagues after he died. He is also credited with the first legal pitch which broke away from the batter.[1][2] He is listed at 5 feet 5 inches tall and 140 pounds, which is small for a pro athlete even in his time, when the average height of an American male in the mid-19th century was 5 foot 7.

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Baseball Encyclopedia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Charlton, James; Shatzkin, Mike; Holtje, Stephen (1990). The Ballplayers: baseball's ultimate biographical reference. New York: Arbor House/William Morrow. p. 679. ISBN 0-87795-984-6.