Eddie Mathews Marquee Hall of Fame 1978

b. October 13, 1931 · Boston Braves 1952, Milwaukee Braves 1953–1965, Atlanta Braves 1966, Houston Astros 1967, Detroit Tigers 1967–1968

He hit 47 home runs in 1953, at 21, and led the National League; he hit 46 in 1959 and led it again. He reached 30 home runs in ten seasons, nine of them consecutive, drew 1,444 walks, and led the league in walks four times, with 124 in 1963.

Milwaukee put Hank Aaron in the lineup beside him in 1954, and as teammates the two hit 863 home runs, 442 by Aaron and 421 by Mathews. The Braves won the pennant in 1957 and 1958 and the World Series in 1957, the only one the franchise won in Milwaukee.

His rookie year was Boston's last. On September 27, 1952, at Ebbets Field, he hit three home runs in an 11-3 win over Brooklyn. The club moved to Milwaukee that winter and to Atlanta in 1966, and he played for it in all three cities. Houston and Detroit had the end of his career, and the writers elected him in 1978 on his fifth ballot.

Honors

Award	Times	Years
All-Star selection	9	1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962
The Sporting News All-Star	4	1955, 1957, 1959, 1960

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1952	BSN	145	528	80	128	23	5	25	58	59	115	6	.242
1953	MLN	157	579	110	175	31	8	47	135	99	83	1	.302
1954	MLN	138	476	96	138	21	4	40	103	113	61	10	.290
1955	MLN	141	499	108	144	23	5	41	101	109	98	3	.289
1956	MLN	151	552	103	150	21	2	37	95	91	86	6	.272
1957	MLN	148	572	109	167	28	9	32	94	90	79	3	.292
1958	MLN	149	546	97	137	18	1	31	77	85	85	5	.251
1959	MLN	148	594	118	182	16	8	46	114	80	71	2	.306
1960	MLN	153	548	108	152	19	7	39	124	111	113	7	.277
1961	MLN	152	572	103	175	23	6	32	91	93	95	12	.306
1962	MLN	152	536	106	142	25	6	29	90	101	90	4	.265
1963	MLN	158	547	82	144	27	4	23	84	124	119	3	.263
1964	MLN	141	502	83	117	19	1	23	74	85	100	2	.233
1965	MLN	156	546	77	137	23	0	32	95	73	110	1	.251
1966	ATL	134	452	72	113	21	4	16	53	63	82	1	.250
1967	DET/HOU	137	436	53	103	16	2	16	57	63	88	2	.236
1968	DET	31	52	4	11	0	0	3	8	5	12	0	.212
Career	—	2391	8537	1509	2315	354	72	512	1453	1444	1487	68	.271

On this day & linked events

1931

Born October 13, 1931

Texarkana, TX, USA

2001

Died February 18, 2001

1952

Major-league debut: Eddie Mathews

Eddie Mathews made a major-league debut on April 15, 1952.

1952

Eddie Mathews's Three-Home-Run Game, 1952

Eddie Mathews hit three home runs for the Boston Braves against the Brooklyn Dodgers on September 27, 1952.

1968

Final major-league game: Eddie Mathews

Eddie Mathews played a final major-league game on September 27, 1968.

Image: Unknown author Unknown, public domain