George Hubbell

George Merritt Hubbell

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.

• Born January 25, 1909 in Red Oak, MO USA
• Died November 15, 1973 in Graham, TX USA

BR Minors page (George)

BR Minors page (Merritt)

Biographical Information

George Hubbell, also listed as Merritt Hubbell, was the younger brother of Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell. It is fair to say that his own career was completely overshadowed by his brother's. He pitched from 1929 to 1937, all in the minor leagues, with only limited success.

He is first listed with the Oklahoma City Indians of the Western League in 1929, going 2-1 in 7 games. Another pitcher named George Hubbell is also listed as pitching 3 games for the Phoenix Senators of the Arizona State League in 1929, going 0-1 with an ERA of 4.00 (although 6 of 10 runs he gave up were unearned, making him look better than he pitched) and may be him as well. He was back in Oklahoma City the next two seasons, going 6-11, 5.23 in 34 games in 1930, and 1-0 in 2 games in 1931. 1932 saw him with two different teams in the Western Association that pulled up stakes in mid season, the Fort Smith Twins/Muskogee Chiefs and the Independence Producers/Joplin Miners/Hutchinson Wheat Shockers, combining to go 7-6 in 19 games. In 1933, he had perhaps his best season with the Baton Rouge Solons of the Dixie League, going 13-11, 3.74 in 29 games.

In 1934, he was with two different teams in the Texas League, the Galveston Buccaneers and Tulsa Oilers, going 6-5 in 34 games. He was again with Tulsa for part of 1934, but mostly with the Shreveport Sports/Gladewater Bears, another nomadic team, this one in the West Dixie League, where he was 3-4, 2.95. In 1936 he was with the Augusta Tigers and Savannah Indians in the South Atlantic League finishing with a combined mark of 14-12 in 42 games. In 1937, his final season, he went 9-7 between Savannah and the Leesburg Gondoliers of the Florida State League. In addition to his pitching, he is listed as playing some games in the outfield in the first few years of his career even though there is no evidence that he was a particularly strong hitter.

He did make headlines on his own on one occasion, on August 12, 1932, when he was traded from Muskogee to Hutchinson in return for "four new baseballs." It was the Great Depression, things were pretty bleak in the Western Association, and someone obviously tried to extract some levity out of a routine player transaction that just saw Hubbell reassigned from one struggling team to another.

After baseball, he served in the United States Navy in World War II, worked in oil field production in Wichita Falls, TX and coached youth baseball in Wichita Falls and in Graham, TX.

Related Sites

• Find-a-Grave page