• Card series: Beginnings: 1880's
• City: Philadelphia
• Team: Athletics (AA)
• League: American Association

Robert T. Mathews (1851-1898) won the 1st Nat’l Assoc game on May 4, 1871. Over 20 years, Mathews became the only man to win 50+ games in each of the 3 early major leagues: NAPBB, the NL, and the AA. His resume includes an NL and an AA title with the Providence Grays and Phil. Athletics respectively. Stands 25th among winningest pitchers in MLB history.

• Won 297 games, more than any other pitcher NOT inducted into the Hall of Fame
• One of the first to use the spitball and execute the curve

• Although the Old Judge series features three known poses of Bobby Mathews, I could not find one of suitable quality for this project. This image is taken from an Old Judge (Gypsy Queen) proof taken at the same time as Mathews’ other OJ images and may represent an as-of-yet undiscovered pose.