Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Carl Hubbell was born in the Route 66 town of Carthage, Mo. He’s the guy most famous for striking out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin consecutively in the 1934 All-Star Game. He also was the league MVP twice.
If you’ve driven through Carthage and didn’t notice any tribute to the lefty screwballer, you’re not alone.
A reporter from the Kansas City Star tried to find something — anything — about Hubbell while in Carthage and came up empty.
The reason is that Hubbell’s family moved to Meeker, Okla., when he was a small child. Meeker has a museum for Hubbell, and it’s considered his hometown. So Hubbell’s connection to Carthage admittedly is a bit tenuous.
Still, for Carthage to do nothing seems like an error.