The ep18 Grannys All-Time Baseball Team

This is Jimmy Powers coming your way with another Grantland Rice story. Here, Jimmy Powers speaking and coming your way once again transcribed. Today's story is another chapter from the Grantland Rice bestseller, The Two Maud and The Shouting.

So, with a sharp salute to the every young spirit of Grantland Rice, I take up his narrative in first person and begin today's installment. Earlier in this series, I told you about my all-time pictures, in fact, for them.

In no special order they were Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Grover Alexander, and Christy Matheson, all right-handers. Perhaps it's because I knew him better than any of the others, but in my book, Matheson of the New York Giants was the greatest pitcher I ever saw.

If your dad or perhaps your granddad was around and following baseball in the early 1900s, ask him about Matty. I knew Matty not only as a superb pitcher, but as a close personal friend. I first met him in 1905 when we were both 25.

But I came to know him far better after I arrived in New York in 1911 as a member of the sports staff of the evening mail. Matthew's was a big man, about six feet tall and 190 pounds.

Matter of fact, he was built along the lines of today's other great modern right-hander named Robin Roberts of the Phillies. A graduate of Bucknell University, Mattie was just a little bit better at all games than anybody else.

He played chess and checkers and poker better, for example, and usually drew in most of the pots. He was smart looking and well dressed. Matheson had an unusual but sound idea concerning the alibi. An alibi is sound and needed in all competition, he said.