We remember Carl Hubbell, one of the great lefties in major league history. Hubbell was born in Carthage, Missouri on this day in 1903.
He broke with the Giants in 1928 started 14 games and turned into one of the game’s greatest pitchers: 253 wins, a 2.98 ERA & 260 complete games. In other words, he completed more games than he won, a rather rare accomplishment.
Hubbell pitched a no-hitter in 1929 and won 24 consecutive games between 1936 (16) and 1937 (8), the longest such streak in Major League history. Carl is also remembered for his 1934 All Star game performance: he struck out Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin consecutively.
In 1937, Carl and the Giants, the defending National League champs, played a series in Cuba in La Tropical Stadium . At one point, Hubbell pitched against Luis Tiant, Sr. and the Giants won 7-3. Of course, Tiant never got to play in the major leagues because of skin color. He did get to watch his son, Luis, pitch in the 1975 World Series.
The legendary lefty was inducted into The Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947.