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Carl Hubbell
Carl Owen Hubbell (June 22, 1903 – November 21, 1988), nicknamed "the Meal Ticket" and "King Carl", was an American Major League Baseball player. He was a pitcher for the New York Giants of the National League from 1928 to 1943, and remained on the team's payroll for the rest of his life, long after their move to San Francisco.
Twice voted the National League's Most Valuable Player, Hubbell was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947. During 1936 and 1937, Hubbell set the major league record for consecutive wins by a pitcher with 24. He is perhaps best remembered for his performance in the 1934 All-Star Game, when he struck out five future Hall of Famers – Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin – in succession. Hubbell's primary pitch was the screwball.
Hubbell was born in Carthage, Missouri, to Margaret Dell (née Upp) and George Owen Hubbell, and was one of seven children. He was raised in Meeker, Oklahoma, where he attended Meeker High School.
After graduating from high school, Hubbell worked for an oil company and played for their baseball team which encouraged him to play professionally.
Hubbell began his baseball career in the Oklahoma State League, in 1923. In 1925, he went 17–13 with the Oklahoma City Indians of the Western League with his trademark screwball; as a result, he was signed by the Detroit Tigers and was invited to spring training in 1926. However, pitching coach George McBride and player-manager Ty Cobb wanted him to scrap the screwball due to fears of injuries. For the rest of spring training, without his pitch, Hubbell was ineffective.
He was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the International League before the start of the season and was forbidden from throwing the screwball. Without his signature pitch, Hubbell went a mediocre 7–7 on a championship team and was demoted to the Decatur Commodores of the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League after spring training 1927. Despite a 14–7 record, the Tigers didn't invite him back for 1928, and he was sent to the Beaumont Exporters of the Texas League.
Hubbell was so fed up by this time that he told Beaumont manager Claude Robinson that he would retire and go into the oil business unless he was sold to another organization by the end of the season. Years later, he said that being unloaded by the Tigers was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Hubbell's break came that June, when Giants scout Dick Kinsella decided to take in a game between Hubbell's Exporters and the Houston Buffs while in Houston for the 1928 Democratic National Convention. He had not planned on doing any scouting, but was impressed by Hubbell. Kinsella called Giants manager John McGraw and mentioned that he knew of Hubbell's release by Detroit, prompted in part by Cobb's concerns about the screwball. McGraw replied that Christy Mathewson had a screwball (a fadeaway, as it was called in his time) and it did not seem to affect his arm. Kinsella followed Hubbell for a month and was still impressed.
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Carl Hubbell
Carl Owen Hubbell (June 22, 1903 – November 21, 1988), nicknamed "the Meal Ticket" and "King Carl", was an American Major League Baseball player. He was a pitcher for the New York Giants of the National League from 1928 to 1943, and remained on the team's payroll for the rest of his life, long after their move to San Francisco.
Twice voted the National League's Most Valuable Player, Hubbell was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947. During 1936 and 1937, Hubbell set the major league record for consecutive wins by a pitcher with 24. He is perhaps best remembered for his performance in the 1934 All-Star Game, when he struck out five future Hall of Famers – Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin – in succession. Hubbell's primary pitch was the screwball.
Hubbell was born in Carthage, Missouri, to Margaret Dell (née Upp) and George Owen Hubbell, and was one of seven children. He was raised in Meeker, Oklahoma, where he attended Meeker High School.
After graduating from high school, Hubbell worked for an oil company and played for their baseball team which encouraged him to play professionally.
Hubbell began his baseball career in the Oklahoma State League, in 1923. In 1925, he went 17–13 with the Oklahoma City Indians of the Western League with his trademark screwball; as a result, he was signed by the Detroit Tigers and was invited to spring training in 1926. However, pitching coach George McBride and player-manager Ty Cobb wanted him to scrap the screwball due to fears of injuries. For the rest of spring training, without his pitch, Hubbell was ineffective.
He was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the International League before the start of the season and was forbidden from throwing the screwball. Without his signature pitch, Hubbell went a mediocre 7–7 on a championship team and was demoted to the Decatur Commodores of the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League after spring training 1927. Despite a 14–7 record, the Tigers didn't invite him back for 1928, and he was sent to the Beaumont Exporters of the Texas League.
Hubbell was so fed up by this time that he told Beaumont manager Claude Robinson that he would retire and go into the oil business unless he was sold to another organization by the end of the season. Years later, he said that being unloaded by the Tigers was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Hubbell's break came that June, when Giants scout Dick Kinsella decided to take in a game between Hubbell's Exporters and the Houston Buffs while in Houston for the 1928 Democratic National Convention. He had not planned on doing any scouting, but was impressed by Hubbell. Kinsella called Giants manager John McGraw and mentioned that he knew of Hubbell's release by Detroit, prompted in part by Cobb's concerns about the screwball. McGraw replied that Christy Mathewson had a screwball (a fadeaway, as it was called in his time) and it did not seem to affect his arm. Kinsella followed Hubbell for a month and was still impressed.