PLAYER PROFILE

TOBY MATTHEWS

STATISTICS & HISTORY

Toby Matthews learned the fundamentals of basketball playing with local teams in his native Catskill, NewYork . In 1902-03, Matthew’s was a key member of the Springfield, Massachusetts Central Basketball League championship team. The following season, when the league began importing Philadelphia stars such as Harry Hough and Eddie Ferat, many of the prominent 1902-03 players were relegated to minor roles. Matthews was one of the few holdovers to flourish in the more competitive environment. During the next few seasons, he blossomed into one of the top stars in professional basketball. He finished second in league scoring to Hough in 1903-04 and was the leading point scorer in the 1904-05 New England League. From 1906 to 1909, despite his status as one of basketball’s best performers, Matthews remained close to home rather than playing in the preeminent Central Basketball League. Mathews performed in the obscurity of upstate New York and in Vermont towns with strong independent teams such as the St.Johnsbury Co.D team. In 1909, Matthews returned to prominence when he signed with his hometown Catskill entry in the newly formed Hudson RiverLeague. He led the circuit in scoring by a wide margin. Matthews was a creative scorer who was a master of playing the ball off the net that surrounded courts of the era. During the course of next five seasons in the HRL and later the New York State League, Matthew’s consistently battled legendary Troy center Ed Wachter to a draw. The two friendly rivals engaged in some titanic struggles, but Matthews was always hampered by the weaker supporting cast and was inevitably on the losing end. After playing independent ball in 1914-15, Matthews returned to the NYSL the next season in top form until he was sidelined by a severe knee injury on New Year’s Day of 1916. While he never was the same player after the injury, Matthews played professionally for almost another decade, until he was 46-years- old, appearing with minor league teams and barnstorming throughout New England.

 

TOBY MATTHEWS Height: 6:01 Weight: 180 180 College: None
Walter James Matthews Born: Feb 17, 1879 Died:   Nov 11, 1963 Hometown: Catskill, NY
REGULAR SEASON RECORD
Year Team League     GA FGM  FTM   FTA  PCT.  AST  PTS   AVG
1898-99 Newburgh Fifth Separate Co. Indep
1899-00 Newburgh Fifth Separate Co. Indep
1900-01 Catskill Sixteenth Separate Co. Indep
1901-02 Catskill Sixteenth Separate Co. Indep
19o1-02 Poughkeepsie Indep
1902-03 Springfield MCL 29 44 33 121 4.2
1903-04 SpringfieldSpringfield WML 51 240 19 499 9.8
1903-04 Lowell NEL 26 126 0 252 9.7
1903-04 Kingston-Newburgh HRL 1 4 2 10 10.0
1904-05 owellFall RiverPortsmouth NEL 57 262 0 524 9.2
1905-06 St.Johnsbury Co.D (Vt) Saints Indep
1906-07 East Liverpool CBL 3 17 9 43 14.3
1906-07 St.Johnsbury Co.D (Vt) Saints Indep
1907-08 St.Johnsbury Co.D (Vt) Saints Indep
1908-09 St.Johnsbury Co.D (Vt) Saints Indep
1909-10 Catskill HRL 27 71 140 282 10.4
1910-11 Catskill HRL 38 83 30 196 5.2
1911-12 Catskill NYSL 46 104 56 264 5.7
1912-13 CatskillCohoesAlbany NYSL 48 116 67 299 6.2
1913-14 Newburgh/Syracuse NYSL 35 58 28 144 4.1
1914-15 Catskill Indep
1915-16 Kingston IBL 1 1 0 2 2.0
1915-16 Hudson NYSL 15 24 16 64 4.3
1915-16 Catskill Indep
1916-17 Hudson NYSL 8 11 8 30 3.8
1916-17 Mechanicville Indep
1917-18 Mechanicville Indep
1917-18 Catskill Indep
1918-19 Mechanicville Halfmoons Indep
1918-19 Catskill Indep
1919-20 Mechanicville-Schulerville NNYSL 10 35 16 86 8.6
1920-21 Catskill Co.E Howitzers Indep
1921-22 Catskill Co.E Howitzers Indep
1921-22 Toby Matthews All-Stars Indep
1922-23 Catskill Co.E Indep
1922-23 Quebec Half Moons Indep
1923-24 Catskill Co.E Howitzers Indep
1923-24 New York Crescents Indep
1924-25 Catskill Co.E Howitzers Indep
1925-26 Catskill HRL 2 3 2 8 4.0
Major League Totals 384 1157 406 2720 7.1
PLAYOFF RECORD
Year Team League     GA FGM  FTM   FTA  PCT.  AST  PTS   AVG
1903-04 Lowell NEL 4 4 0 8 2.0
Major League Totals 4 4 0 8 2.0

 

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