The Record-Setting Streak of “King Carl” Hubbell Ends!

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Carl Hubbell Photo Gallery: Photos From His Great Career!

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The Record-Setting Streak of “King Carl” Hubbell Ends!

“The source of his skill is his matchless control in using his curveball to set up his screwball. Emotions, if he has any, never affect him.” – Waite Hoyt in New York Giants : A Baseball Album (1999)

“Carl Hubbell was the toughest pitcher I ever faced.” –Joe DiMaggio

With Jake Arrieta set to go for his 21^st consecutive win and the Cubs’ 24^th in a row in his starts, it’s a good time to note that today is the anniversary of the end of Carl Hubbell’s record 24-game consecutive winning streak. It ended in a 10-3 loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers on May 31, 1937. His last loss prior to this one was on July 13, 1936 a 1-0 loss to the Cubs.

Here’s a nice photo from the Leslie Jones collection of two great Hall-of-Fame Giants, Carl Hubbell and Mel Ott. Unfortunately, there is something very tragic associated with this photo.* Read what it is at the bottom of the post, after I say a few words about the career of the great Giant pitcher from the 1930’s, Carl Hubbell:

Carl Hubbell, nicknamed “The Meal Ticket” and “King Carl” was a member of the New York Giants from 1928 to 1943. He was a nine-time All-Star, and twice won the National League MVP award. Hubbell is best remembered for his performance in the 1934 All-Star Game where he set a record by striking out five future Hall of Famers in succession: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin. Joe DiMaggio once called Hubbell the toughest pitcher he’d ever faced.

Over his 16 year career, Hubbell posted a 253–154 record, 2.97 ERA, 1678 strikeouts, 724 walks, 260 complete games, and 36 shutouts. Hubbell recorded five consecutive 20-win seasons (1933–37) and helped the Giants win three pennants and the 1933 World Series. In six career World Series starts, he was 4–2 with 32 strikeouts and a 1.79 ERA.

He won 24 consecutive games between 1936 (16) & 1937 (8), the longest such streak ever recorded in major league history. He led the league in wins three times and earned run average three times. He also led the league in innings pitched (308) and shutouts (10) in 1933. He led the league in strikeouts in 1937 (159), and strikeouts per nine innings pitched in 1938 (5.23). Hubbell compiled a streak of 461⁄3 scoreless innings in 1933. He pitched a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates (11–0, May 8, 1929), and an 18-inning shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals (1–0, July 2, 1933).

Upon his retirement in 1943, Giants’ owner Horace Stoneham immediately appointed him as director of player development, a post he held for 35 years. The last ten years of his life were spent as a Giants scout. At the time of his death, he was the last New York Giant still active in some capacity in baseball.

The1984 All-Star game played at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, marked the 50th anniversary of Hubbell’s legendary 1934 All-Star game performance. Hubbell himself was on hand to throw out the first pitch, which was a screwball.

Hubbell was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947. In 1999, he ranked #45 on the the Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. He was the first National League player to have his number retired and his number 11 is posted on the facing of the upper deck in the left field corner at AT&T Park.

*The tragedy associated with the photo of Hubbell and Ott:
Hubbell died due to injuries suffered in an auto accident in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1988, thirty years to the day after teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Mel Ott (pictured below with Hubbell) died of the same cause.

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: Leslie Jones Boston Public Library collection; The George Brace Baseball Photo collection; and the Charles Conlon Baseball Photo collection.

Information: Excerpts edited from the Carl Hubbell Wikipedia page.

Statistics from the Carl Hubbell Baseball Reference page

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