OTD 1934: Carl Hubbell Rung Up Ruth, Gehrig, More!
July 10, 1934: New York Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell struck out five future Hall of Famers in a row including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig
BySam Grigsby, PSO Director of Sports History Jul 10, 2021
July 10, 1934: In just the 2nd MLB All-Star Game ever, SP Carl Hubbell recorded an iconic feat of striking out 5 Hall of Famers in a row (Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin) pic.twitter.com/IwhMz7CfYn
The second All-Star Game in MLB history included many of the same faces as the first, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Al Simmons, Jimmie Fox, and Joe Cronin. These future Hall of Famers specifically found themselves as a part of history that year. They were unwilling participants in a historic performance by their fellow 1933 Midsummer Classic alumni, Carl Hubbell.
Representing the hosting New York Giants, Hubbell faced all five of those legends in consecutive order. Against all odds, he struck each one out, five in a row. Ruth and Gehrig were held hitless through the duration of the game. Simmons, Cronin, and Foxx combined for seven hits and four RBIs but couldn’t touch Hubbell’s stuff. New York’s ace pitched a total of three innings, recording six strikeouts, and allowed only two players on base. His National League squad ultimately fell to the American League All-Stars 9-7.
Hubbell became a Hall of Famer in his own right with him seemingly only getting better with age. His best season came in the year prior when his league-leading 23 Wins, 1.66 ERA, 308.2 IP, and 0.982 WHIP led him to becoming the first southpaw NL MVP of all-time and a 1933 World Champion. He carried that over into a decade of dominance that included another MVP award in 1936 as well as nine total All-Star appearances but his most memorable career moment was ringing up these legends in a row OTD in 1934.
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