Henry Mathewson was born on December 24, 1886, as the fourth of six children. Henry was the third of four Mathewson brothers, after older brothers Christy and Cyril (who died as an infant), and before younger brother Nicholas. His father, Gilbert, was a postmaster for the United States Senate, and his mother, Minerva, was a leader of the local Woman\'s Christian Temperance Union. Minerva was said to be responsible for teaching Henry and the other Mathewson brothers to throw.\n', '

Henry was first offered a professional contract by the Chicago Cubs during the spring of 1906; he turned down their offer so that he could join Christy with the New York Giants; by that time, the elder Mathewson had established himself as a star by winning the pitching Triple Crown in 1905. Due to Christy\'s fame, Henry Mathewson was much written about in the press as the "next Matty" throughout his career.\n', '

Despite the hype, Henry did not pitch well in exhibition games. Ultimately, he spent much of 1906 pitching in semi-professional leagues. When his semi-pro season ended in September, Henry was brought up to the major league roster. At nineteen years of age, he was the youngest player in the National League at that time.\n', '

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