Christy Mathewson Personal WW1 Gas Training Schedule

Before his Hall of Fame career was cut short, Christy Mathewson faced a greater threat in World War I: poison gas exposure during military training. These two original, certified schedules from his personal collection document his chemical warfare instruction, including respirator drills, gas chamber exercises, and shell identification.
 

Mathewson earned gas mask certification on November 3, 1918, just one day before a week-long defense course began. That timing, supported by published accounts, suggests this training was when he was exposed to poison gas, leading to lung damage, tuberculosis, and his death in 1925.