Carl Owen Hubbell

Baseball

Carl Hubbell was actually born at Red Oak in 1903 but he always said he was from Carthage. He loved baseball and proved himself to be an excellent player. In 1936, Time magazine said while growing up on his family’s farm he “practiced for hours…throwing stones at a barn door until he could unfailingly hit knotholes no bigger than a dime”. He was a left handed pitcher and played professional baseball for the New York Giants for 15 years from 1928 to 1943. His career highlights included five consecutive 20 win seasons, and he led the Giants to a win in the 1933 World Series. In six World Series starts, he compiled a 4-2 record with a low 1.79 ERA and 32 strikeouts.

Raised in Meeker, Oklahoma he was invited to spring training in 1926 with the Detroit Tigers, but coach George McBride and player-manager Ty Cobb were not impressed with him.  Cobb thought he relied too heavily on his trademark screwball pitch.  After being sent to the minor leagues, he was released and eventually picked up by the Giants in 1928.

His career led him to be voted the National League Most Valuable Player twice (the first unanimous pick in 1936), and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947. Carl set the major league record for consecutive wins by a pitcher with 24, and in the 1934 All Star Game he struck out five of the game’s greatest hitters in succession.  His teammates referred to him as The Meal Ticket.  He ended his career with a 253-154 won-lost record, 1,678 strikeouts, 724 walks, 36 shutouts, and a 2.97 Earned Run Average in 3,590 innings pitched.   He worked for the Giants for 35 years after he retired as a pitcher and drew a paycheck from them until his death.

He died of injuries from a car wreck in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1988 and is buried there.