Cliff Matteson, P

In 1884, Henry Lucas founded the Union Association as a third major league to compete against the existing National League and American Association. His club, the St. Louis Maroons, was by far the best club in the league, winning its first twenty games, and putting together a 27-3 record going into the game on June 13, 1884. That is when C.V. Matteson, a 22-year-old from Ohio, made his one and only major league start, pitching for the Maroons at home against Cincinnati. The game was a makeup game for the game started on June 9, which was called in the second inning on account of rain. Matteson was described as a "phenomenon" in a local newspaper the morning of the game. At the end of the day, despite earning the win, the review of his performance was that "Matteson, the new St. Louis pitcher, did not pan out." Matteson went back to Ohio. The Maroons went on to win 66 more games against just 16 more losses to finish at 94-19, 21 games ahead of second place Cincinnati.

Clifford Virgil Matteson was born in Seville, Ohio, on November 24, 1861. Most of what is known about his life and family while growing up comes from a book written by his sister, Mary Irene Matteson Wilbur (1872-1957) in 1938, which was a collection of memories from their mother and herself. Their mother, Mary Hulburt, was born in Medina County, Ohio, in 1833. Her parents (Halsey Hulburt and Betsy Moses Hulbert) were among the early settlers in the area in 1831. In the 1850s, when their mother was in her teens, her family's house was a stopping point on the Underground Railroad for slaves enroute to Canada. Their father, Horace Matteson, was born in Freetown, New York in 1826. The Matteson line from which Horace descended was thought by Mary to trace to Henry Matteson (1648-1690), who came to the United States in the 1670s to what is now Rhode Island. Horace's family settled in Litchfield, Ohio around 1836. Horace began teaching at the school in Seville starting at age 18, boarding at the houses of his students around town on a rotating basis, including the Hulbert house. He transitioned to selling insurance in 1848, and subsequently also opened a clothing store in town. Horace and Mary were married in Westfield, Ohio in 1852. Cliff was the fourth of seven children, while Mary Irene was the second youngest.

Cliff's baseball record is far less clear than his personal life and family history. His sister notes about her siblings

Whether it gave her [their mother] satisfaction that her sons played base-ball with some distinction I often wonder. Cliff and Fred Taylor kept alive the Seville Baseball team, and actively participated for more years than is believable. Cliff quit at fifty. And her youngest son is unforgotten for his part on the University of Michigan nine, in his day, when that team was Champion of the West.

Cliff's professional career appears to have started in 1884, when he signed with "an Eastern base ball club at $85 per month." According to David Nemec, that club was the New Castle Neshannocks of the Iron & Coal Association. He played with the eastern club for less than a month and was released before his one game with the Maroons.

On June 13, 1884, the Maroons played the Cincinnati Outlaw Reds in St. Louis at Union Park. "Matteson, their new pitcher, and [Jack] Brennan filled the points." The starter for the Reds was George Bradley, who had won 45 games for the St. Louis Brown Stockings in 1875, the first season of the National League. Bradley was in his final season as a pitcher in the major leagues, and he would win 25 games for Cincinnati in 1884, but that day was not one of them. "Bradley was batted so hard that in the fourth inning he changed places with [Lou] Sylvester," who started the game in left field. St. Louis scored 13 runs in the first four innings but scored just three more off Sylvester in the remaining five innings. Lou didn't pitch much in the majors (six games, all in 1884), but he played in three seasons as an outfielder, including 29 games with the St. Louis Browns in 1887, his final year in the majors. Matteson fared only a little better than Bradley. He allowed 11 runs in six innings (but only two earned runs, according to the box scores) before switching places with Billy Taylor in center field, with George Baker moving from third base to replace Brennan behind the plate. When he wasn't patrolling the outfield, Taylor was winning 25 games against only 4 losses for the Maroons in 1884. Taylor tossed three scoreless innings to finish the game for the Maroons. Matteson earned the win, despite his poor performance. Cincinnati made twelve hits overall for twenty total bases. Matteson allowed nine of those hits while striking out 3 and walking 3. He also was 0-4 at the plate and had two assists.

After his one game with the Maroons, Matteson returned to Seville. In March 1885 he married Cora Abbott (born 1866), of Montville, Ohio. When his father retired at age 60 (in 1886), Cliff took over the Matteson Dry Goods and Clothing Store in Seville. The building, with "C V Matteson 1903" along the top, still stands near the intersection of West Main and Milton in Seville, Ohio.

It is thought that Cliff tried his hand (or rather arm) at professional baseball once more, in 1886, for the Augusta Browns in the Southern League. The Browns had one steady starter during the season, Charles Holacher, but auditioned numerous other pitchers looking for a second one. Matteson was given two starts in June 1886. His first start, on June 2, was very successful. He pitched a three-hitter against Savannah, walking four and striking out three. "Matterson (sic), the new pitcher, played a good game. We are not prepared to express an opinion as to him until we have seen more." One of his teammates was teammate was Heinie Kappel, who played with Matteson during his short stint at New Castle in 1884. Another was Lou Sylvester, from the game against Cincinnati two years prior. Matteson's second start was the opposite of his first, as he was "pounded out of the box in two innings," allowing seven runs in a 9-6 loss to Charleston. He played a third game for Augusta in the outfield (presumably between the two starts).

As Cliff took over the store from his father in either 1886 or early 1887, Augusta was his last stint in professional baseball. He and Cora were married 38 years, until her death in 1923; they never had children. While he may not have had children of his own, he was likely popular with the local children.

C.V. Matteson made a bunch of little girls happy on New Year's day. For several days he had a sign on his store windows for all little girls under twelve years of age to come in at ten o'clock New Year's day. Well, say, how they flocked in. Each little girl got a doll and a little sack of candy and the little folks think C.V. is the best ever.

The last add for the store (under Cliff's name) appears in the Medina newspapers in late 1921, around the time Cliff would have turned 60. It seems likely that he retired at that point, as his father did before him. Cora died in 1923. Cliff became mayor again in the late 1920s or maybe 1930. He died on December 18, 1931, while serving as mayor. He attended the Seville village fireman's amateur show (a fundraiser) the evening of December 17 and ate at a midnight luncheon after the program. Shortly after, he suffered acute indigestion and died. He is buried in Mound Hill Cemetery in Seville, Ohio with his wife and parents. Oddly, his tombstone reads "Virgil Clifford Matteson."

Cliff was inducted into the Medina County Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.

Posted January 14, 2021