Bill Hubbell

American baseball player (1897-1980)

Baseball player

Bill Hubbell

Pitcher
Born: (1897-06-17)June 17, 1897 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died: August 3, 1980(1980-08-03) (aged 83) Lakewood, Colorado, U.S.
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 24, 1919, for the New York Giants
Last MLB appearance
September 13, 1925, for the Brooklyn Robins
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	40–63
Earned run average	4.68
Strikeouts	167

Teams
New York Giants (1919–1920) Philadelphia Phillies (1920–1925) Brooklyn Robins (1925)

Wilbert William Hubbell (born June 17, 1897 – August 3, 1980) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball from 1919 to 1925.

Early life

Hubbell was born in San Francisco, California. He attended college at the University of Idaho.

Career

Hubbell appeared in 204 Major League Baseball games between 1919 and 1925 for three NL clubs, principally the Philadelphia Phillies.

Injury

While playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, Hubbell was hit in the head by a line drive on May 27, 1922, which fractured his skull. A newspaper articleat the time wrote, "In the Brooklyn half of the first inning in the first game of a double header at the Philadelphia National League Park a line drive from Tom Griffith's bat struck pitcher Wilbur Hubbell the Philadelphia pitcher, who did not have time to get out of the ball's way. The sphere hit him on the left side of the head and he dropped to the ground..."^[1]

He was out of the hospital on June 3, 1922, almost completely recovered from the injury. Newspaper reports at the time said he would wear "a specially constructed steel plate to guard the area over his right ear" against further injuries.^[2]

Death

Hubbell died at the age of 83 in Lakewood, Colorado.

References

^ "Bill Hubbell Photograph, 1922". Baseball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
^ "Hubbell Out Of Hospital; To Wear Steel Ear Plate". The New York Herald. June 4, 1922. Retrieved May 9, 2019.