Big Six

Historical marker for Christy Mathewson north of Scranton, Pa., Sep-1993.

Dedication of US 6 & 11 as a memorial highway to the pitcher, Sep-2014.

Farther east, in Honesdale, a plaque honoring Mathewson’s pre-Major League days.

• Location: US 6 & 11, Factoryville, Pa.
• Erected: Unknown

“Big Six”, so-called for his six-foot stature, broke in with the New York Giants of the National League in 1901 and promptly became one of the game’s most dominating pitchers. In the 1905 World Series, he pitched three of the five games and won all three by shutout.

Mathewson’s career ended when he entered military service in 1917, upon the United States’ entry into the first World War. His wartime service incapacitated him, but he came home not only a war hero, but a baseball figure respected for his candor as well as his ability. In commentaries he wrote for a newspaper syndicate during the 1919 World Series, he observed that all was not on the level. The next year, it was revealed that several of the Chicago White Sox had conspired to throw the Series to the Cincinnati Reds, who won 5 games to 3.

Mathewson died of his service-related illness at age 45, long before he could be honored with induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Two decades later, I saw that the stretch of US 6 and 11 in Factoryville had been dedicated in Mathewson’s memory. Two counties over on US 6, in Honesdale, a separate plaque pays tribute to Mathewson’s semi-pro days, before he signed his first major league contract. The highway number and Mathewson’s nickname are purely, but happily, coincidental.