Christy Mathewson Resigns as Reds Manager to Join the Army

On August 27, 1918, Christy Mathewson resigned as manager of the Cincinnati Reds to accept a commission as a captain in the Chemical Warfare Service of the United States Army. World War I was in its final months, and Mathewson, one of baseball's most celebrated figures, walked away from the game to serve overseas. He was 37 years old.

Mathewson had been managing the Reds since 1916, arriving in Cincinnati as part of a trade with the New York Giants that sent him and two others across the league. His playing career was already over by then. As a pitcher for the Giants from 1900 to 1916, Mathewson had won 373 games, posted a 2.13 career ERA, and thrown two no-hitters. He won 30 or more games four times. In the 1905 World Series, he threw three complete-game shutouts in six days, a feat that remains unmatched.

His decision to enlist reflected both patriotic duty and the tenor of the times. The 1918 baseball season was shortened by the war, with the government's "work or fight" order pressuring men of military age to either take essential war jobs or join the armed forces. Several major leaguers enlisted, but Mathewson's departure carried special weight because of his stature in the sport.

In France, Mathewson participated in a training exercise near Chaumont that exposed him to poison gas. The exact circumstances remain debated, but the exposure damaged his lungs severely. He returned from the war with his health compromised, suffering from persistent coughing and breathing difficulties.

Mathewson spent years battling tuberculosis, a condition aggravated by the gas exposure. He served as president of the Boston Braves in 1923 and attempted to stay involved in baseball, but his body could not recover. He died on October 7, 1925, at Saranac Lake, New York, during the World Series. He was 45. The game he left behind on August 27, 1918, never fully got him back.