Eddie Mathews was born on October 13th, 1931, in Texarkana, Texas. His family moved to Santa Barbara, California, four years later. Eddie got his love of baseball from his father. His dad was a Western Union telegraph operator and former semi-pro ballplayer. His mother got in on the action too. She would pitch to him, and his dad would shag balls. If he hit one up the middle close to his mom, he would have extra chores to do. ” My mom was instrumental in making me a pull hitter,” he said later. My first memory of Eddie came at the coliseum in 1958.
Eddie Mathews: Braves Thumper
