July 10, 1934 All Star Game — Hubbell’s Five Consecutive Ks

On July 10, 1934, before 48,000 of his home town fans at New York’s famed Polo Grounds, Carl Hubbell toed the rubber as the National League’s starting pitcher in the All Star game.  While his day would start inauspiciously, Hubbell would eventually turn in, arguably, the greatest pitching feat in All Star game history. Both paying fans and those watching nearby from Coogan’s Bluff would not be disappointed.

Here is how Baseball Almanac.com describes Hubbell’s pitching feat:

First, Charlie Gehringer led off with a single and moved to second on an outfield error. Then, Heinie Manush drew a walk bringing up Ruth, Gehrig and Foxx with two on, none out. It was a pitcher’s worst nightmare. Hubbell accepted the challenge and began turning over his screwball with pinpoint precision.

It was a delivery that was designed to break the backs of free swingers. Ruth was the first to fall after taking a called third strike and looking “decidedly puzzled,” according to one account. Gehrig followed and went down swinging.

Visibly frustrated, Gehrig apparently warned Foxx on his way back to the dugout, “You might as well cut. It won’t get any higher.” The advice didn’t help; Foxx went down on strikes. In the second inning, Hubbell made it five in a row when he struck out Al Simmons and Joe Cronin.

The American League would eventually regroup and beat the Senior Circuit 9-7. Gehringer, Cronin, Foxx, and Simmons all collected multiple hits.   In this game, pitching took a backseat to hitting. After Hubbell’s impressive start, both Lon Warneke of the Cubs and Van Lingle Mungo (he of the jazzy baseball song)  of the Brooklyn Dodgers would get shelled, each allowing 4 runs in a single inning.

1934 All Star Game Box Score

A left-handed pitcher with a devastating screwball, Hubbell was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1947 and was affectionately known as “Meal Ticket” for his reliability. 

Hubbell’s Biography

Carl Hubbell, a baseball legend was active in the 1930s for the New York Giants and a nine-time All-Star. Hubbell was aleft-handed ace from Oklahoma who is still regarded as one of the greatest pitchers of all time and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947. This work presents an account of Habbell’s life.

This work is a biography of Carl Hubbell, a baseball legend who was active in the 1930s for the New York Giants and a nine-time All-Star. Hubbell was a left-handed ace from Oklahoma who is still regarded as one of the greatest pitchers of all time and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947. With an emphasis on his pitching career, this biography covers both his personal life and his development as a player.

Read Hubbell’s complete biography at SABR’s — The Baseball Biography Project.

Hubbell Pitching