Inactive?

It has been five years since I've made a post on this page.  On the surface that seems pretty bad, but considering my main blog has only had semi monthly postings the last 2-3 years, its not too surprising.  I've lost focus on a lot of things the last couple years, and I'll be honest- I'm not sure how soon I'll be back to working on updates on here.  I guess I should update St. Louis having and XFL, but not sure if they should be current or former now that they were bought out of bankruptcy.  I will also have to add a new MLS team in a couple years when St. Louis gets one of them too.

What is really odd is that in the time I haven't posted on here, Missouri has hosted the World Champions in MLB, NHL, and the NFL.  Not too bad.  I guess I should document that on here as well.  So I don't have much to add however if I start getting interested I might start working on this page again, I guess all I can say is stay tuned.

R.I.P. Curtis Brown

Curtis Brown played very few professional games in the state of Missouri, but the St. Charles native played collegiately at the University of Missouri.  After compiling over 1500 all-purpose yards in two playing seasons which also saw him land in a few top 10 categories for the Big 8 Conference, Brown was drafted in the third round of the 1977 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills- 59th overall.

October 7,1970 photo courtesy of Buffalo News

Curtis Jerome Brown was a running back that played in 78 games professionally between the Buffalo Bills and the Houston Oilers.  He ran for over 2,000 yards in his 7 year NFL career and played in three playoff games for the Bills.  He also was a kick returner and in 1978 returned a 102 yard kickoff for a touchdown.  Brown also did quite well as a receiver as well with an 84 yard touchdown pass in 1979.  In total he had 3,817 all-purpose yards in the National Football League.

Curtis Brown was an all-star running back in high school while playing for St. Charles, and his excellence continued when he became a Missouri Tiger.  In 1976 he helped Mizzou score two major upsets against the USC Trojans and the Ohio State Buckeyes in key road games, including a 95 yard kickoff return in the USC game.

1981 Topps card courtesy of Trading Card Database

As a professional, many fans may remember him most as the man who replaced O.J. Simpson in the Buffalo backfield when Simpson was traded in 1978.  Brown eventually lost playing time and became a backup for the Bills before playing the 1983 season with the Houston Oilers.

After his playing days were over, Curtis Brown began suffering from dementia from at least four football related concussions.  While being treated for the dementia, Mr. Brown suffered a heart attack and passed away at the age of 60 on July 30th, 2015.

1982 Topps card courtesy of Trading Card Database

Born In Missouri: Carl Hubbell

Carl Hubbell may not be associated to Missouri by many people, but he was born in Carthage, MO on June 22nd, 1903.  He would later move to Meeker, OK and from there would become a multi-time All-Star for the New York Giants baseball club.  He was most famous for his screwball pitch though the pitcher intially didn't impress Detroit Tigers pitching coach George McBride or Ty Cobb who was the manager in addition to a player for Detroit.  After Detroit gave up on him in 1928, they sent him to Beaumont, TX to play for the Exporters.

Photo Courtesy: Haworth, New Jersey

Dick Kinsella who was a Giants scout at the time happened to see him pitch one June day.  He was impressed and contacted Giants manager John McGraw, and a short time later paid Beaumont $30,000 to for Hubbell.  After that "King Carl" as many called him would forever be a Giant.

He pitched his first MLB game on July 26th, 1928 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Unfortunately it wasn't a great outing as he gave up 5 runs (3 earned) and 7 hits with only 1 strikeout in an inning and two-thirds pitched.  He would secure his first win 5 days later in a relief appearance against the Chicago Cubs.  Overall, he finished the 1928 year with a 10-6 record and an E.R.A. of 2.83.

Carl Hubbell would become a solid pitcher the next few years for the Giants despite the team not playing to their fullest ability. On May 8th, 1929, he pitched a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates. After a few less than steller seasons the Giants replaced manager John McGraw with Bill Terry.

Photo Courtesy: MLB Hall of Fame

1933 was when Hubbell and the Giants started to make the other teams take notice.  A July 2nd game saw Carl throw 18 innings without giving up a run, 12 of which saw him throwing a perfect game and striking out 12 without issuing a walk.  From that time on he was called the Giants Meal Ticket.  He thew a then-record 45 consecutive scoreless innings in 1933.  He finished the year 23-12 with 10 shutouts and a 1.66 E.R.A.  It was more than enough to garner the National League MVP.

The 1933 team continued their success as the beat the Washington Senators to win the World Series.  Hubbell won two of the five games for the Giants.  1933 also saw him compete in his first All-Star Game where he pitched 2 innings.

Overall, Carl Hubbell was a 9 time All Star (including the 1940 game played in St. Louis, where he got the save for the National League),  was a one time World Series champion (1933), twice was named the NL MVP (1933 and 1936), and pitched one no-hitter.

His number 11 has since been retired by the San Francisco Giants, the first National League player to have his number retired, and in 1947 he was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame with 87% of the vote.

Photo Courtesy: Vintage Card Prices

In 1951, he was inducted into another Hall of Fame, this one was the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.  He was the only inductee in 1951, and was the first one to be inducted.

In 1984 Carl Hubbell threw out the first pitch of the All-Star Game held at Candlestick Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.  During the game he witnessed one of his records broken.  Exactly 50 years before, in 1934, Hubbell struck out 5 consecutive batters in the ASG (all five would be future Hall of Famers).  In 1984, Fernando Valenzuela and Dwight Gooden combined to strick out 6 consecutive batters (Valenzuela struck out 3 future Hall of Famers and Gooden struck out 3 batters).

On November 21st, 1988, exactly 30 years to the date his close friend Mel Ott died in a car accident, Carl Hubbell himself died in a car accident.  In 1999, Hubbell was ranked #45 on The Sporting News list of 100 Greatest Baseball Players. 

For more information, check out the following links:

Society For American Baseball Research
Wikipedia
Baseball Reference
National Baseball Hall of Fame

1940 All-Star Game

     The 1940 All-Star Game was the 8th annual Summer Classic and the first held in the state of Missouri.  Held at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis on July 9th, the National League proved to be the dominant team as they bested the American League 4-0, in the first ASG shut-out.  NL Pitcher Paul Derringer of Cincinnati Reds picked up the win while Red Ruffing of the New York Yankees picked up the loss.  A crowd of 32,373 fans saw many future Hall of Famer's play in a game lasting an hour and 53 minutes.

Among the names playing for the National League squad included: Mell Ott, Carl Hubbell, and Arky Vaughn, as well as St. Louis Cardinals players Johnny Mize and Terry Moore.  On the American League side, the players included: Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx, and Joe DiMaggio in addition to St.
 Louis Browns player George McQuinn.

(Photo courtesy of Legendary Auctions)

This game was the second of three All Star Games that Beans Reardon was behind home play calling the pitches.  He also worked 5 World Series games, and also was the man behind the plate for Clyde Shouri's no-hitter in 1944, and most notably, he was behind home plate when Babe Ruth belted his 714th home run.

George Pipgras was the umpire at first base during the game.  After a playing career which included pitching for the 1927 Yankees, the 1928 Yankees who swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, the winning pitcher for the Yankees in the 1932 World Series game which included Babe Ruth's "Called Shot".  This would be his only All-Star Game as an umpire, but he also worked the 1944 World Series and was behind home plate for Dick Fowler's no-hitter in 1945.

Steve Basil worked third base for the game.  It was his second and last time working the All-Star Game, and also worked in the 1940 World Series, also his second and last time, his first was in 1937.  In total, Basil worked over 1,000 games as an umpire.

(Photo courtesy of MLB)

Possibly the most fascinating umpire for the game was Bill Stewart, he manned second base.  Working his second of four All-Star games (including the 1948 game also at Sportsman's Park), he also worked 4 World Series contests including the 1937 Series with the aforementioned Steve Basil.  He was behind home plate for Johnny Vander Meer's second no-hitter in 1938,  and work the 1951 pennant series between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants.

If all of that wasn't interesting enough, has was also a hockey referee and was even a hockey coach from 1937-1939 (he coached the Chicago Blackhawks).  He was also the coach for the 1957 U.S. National Hockey team, which had a record of 23-3-1.  His grandson Paul Stewart would later become an NHL player and also a referee.

For more information on the players, game, or any other notes from the game or people associated from the game, check out Baseball Reference, Baseball Almanac, or Wikipedia.

Introduction

I decided to create a blog dedicated to Sports History in the state of Missouri.  I don't have a specific schedule of when I plan to post, and right now I'm not sure what my first post (besides this one) will be.  However I have a few ideas.  In the future, I will take a look at teams that have called Missouri home.  Sure, I will feature the Cardinals and the Chiefs, but it goes way beyond that.  Teams like the St. Louis Browns, Kansas City Monarchs, Mid-Missouri Mavericks, Joplin Miners, and more.  If I can find information about a team, it will be eventually profiled.  No sport is off limits- baseball, football, tennis, basketball, hockey, you name it.  At random I will have dates in history where I look back at major sports stories involving Missouri.

Sometimes I won't just feature teams.  I will also profile people born in Missouri, or people inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.  I also plan to talk about college teams as well.  Teams like the Missouri Tigers, Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, Missouri Western Griffons, and any college in-between.

As time goes on, I may even include some coverage on High School sports history.  I have lots of plans, so be on the lookout for my first real post.