Mattis was born on August 24, 1890 in Roxborough, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Benjamin and Anna Mattis of Pennsylvania and Delaware, respectively. The two had four other children, Frank, Ross, Reed, and Weston. Benjamin Mattis worked as a butcher. In 1909, Ralph Mattis joined the Roxborough semi-professional baseball team, which were members of the Northern Pennsylvania League.\n', '

In 1911, Mattis signed with the minor league Richmond Colts of the Class-C Virginia League. With the Colts, Mattis played left field. On May 9, he hit two home runs in the same inning in a game against the Roanoke Tigers. In August, Richmond sold Mattis to the Washington Senators. According to The Indianapolis Star, Washington was just one of many Major League Baseball (MLB) teams that was interested in Mattis. On the season with the Colts, he batted .306 with 140 hits in 124 games played. He finished sixth in the league in hits that year.\n', '

Mattis was invited to spring training with the Washington Senators in 1912. Early in spring training, Mattis suffered an injury which caused him miss playing time. The manager of the Georgetown University baseball team allowed Mattis to practice with his team while he was recovering from his injury. Before the start of the regular season, Mattis was sent to the Class-C Virginia League by the Senators. He was assigned to the Newport News Shipbuilder, where he batted .249 with 107 hits, 18 doubles, four triples, and one home run in 118 games played. At the end of the season, The Sheboygan Press called Mattis "the best outfielder in the Virginia League". In 1913, Mattis joined the Class-C Roanoke Tigers of the Virginia League. During mid-season, he was described as one of the best outfielders in the Virginia League by The Washington Post. He batted .300 with 157 hits, 21 doubles, eight triples, and three home runs in 140 games played. Defensively, he played all of his games in the outfield, committing nine errors in 332 total chances. Mattis led the league in hits that season.\n', '

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