Cy Young, Boston Americans, 1903

Description

Cy Young, 1903
Print Detail:
This limited print, which measures 8.3” x 9.5”, was printed on to canvas and mounted on to an acid-free 11” x 14” beveled mat. The mat is attached to a 4-ply, acid-free backing board and is protected with a removable, Krysta Seal transparent plastic covering. The mat is intended to protect the print, but it can be framed as is, or can easily be disassembled without harming the underlying canvas print or matting material. Please note that the mat opening is 7.5” x 9.5” and does not perfectly match the opening in the pre-cut mat.
Source:
Chicago Daily News Negative Collection
Photo Subject:
Portrait of Denton True “Cy” Young playing for the 1903 Boston Americans.
Fun Fact:
Cy Young is credited with winning 511 games, the most of any MLB pitcher and 94 more than Walter Johnson, who is second on this list. He also pitched three no-hitters and in 1905 pitched the first perfect game in modern MLB history against Rube Waddell. In 1903, the Boston Americans made it to the first World Series to play the NL champion Pittsburgh Pirates. Cy Young helped in this cause by winning two World Series games.
It is believed that Young’s blazing fastball earned him the nickname “Cy”, a shorten form of cyclone. As he recalled, "I almost tore the boards off the grandstand with my fastball”. It is difficult to say just how hard Young actually threw, however, Bill James wrote that his catcher, Lou Criger, often put a piece of beefsteak inside his baseball glove to protect his catching hand from Young's fastball.
Over the years, catching Cy Young’s fastball took its toll on Lou Criger’s hand. Harold Criger, son of Lou Criger remembers his father telling him that ‘when the ball hit the mitt, it sounded like a pistol shot’ He also remembered that his father would have to soak his hand in hot water after a game to relieve the pain. And, as Bill James claimed, Criger sometimes put a slice of beefsteak in his mitt for more padding to stop Cy from beating his hand to a bloody shred.
Original Painting Detail (not this Print):
Printed on 8 1/2” x 11” canvas and painted using Schmincke Mussini and Marshall’s oil paints.
Acknowledgement:
Thanks to the Society for American Baseball Research for the story on Lou Criger’s poor left hand.
Additional info, go to:
baseballoncanvas.com