Hall of Fame Ebay Success - Carl Hubbell

I have been saving money lately so that I can knock some more baseballs off of my want list. However, I have been so indecisive about what I wanted to buy that I have been racking up the savings.  I thought to myself that I could take what I've saved and get a big name like Mantle or DiMaggio; keep saving and try for a Dizzy Dean or Jimmie Foxx or spread it out to several hall of famers that I normally wouldn't be able to buy.

That's when I went on Ebay and started looking at all that I could get with what I had saved.  After days of looking at prices, I jumped on a Hall of Famer who was kind of on the tier as far as average price of a Mantle or DiMaggio.  Ok, well, maybe on the lower end.

Anyway, I jumped all over this PSA authenticated Carl Hubbell.  After doing some research, I found that a signed ball of Hubbell went on average for around $300-$350, so when I saw the price this one was at, I had to grab it.  Let's just say, I got it for a decent bit less than the lower average price.

Hubbell is my 53rd Hall of Fame signed baseball and is definitely one of my more valuable ones (his and Ted Williams, I would rank as my top 2).  Charlie Gehringer is still my 'oldest', having a career that spanned from 1924 to 1942.  As far as actual player age, Gehringer beats Hubbell by a little over a month, having been born in May 1903 to Hubbell being born in June 1903.  Putting that into perspective, my great-grandparents were both born in 1901, only 2 years before Hubbell (and Gehringer) were born, and my Grandmother was born in 1927, only a year before Hubbell began playing in the Majors... 

Carl Hubbell (b. 1903 - d. 1988) played in the majors from 1928 to 1943, all for the New York Giants.  He was a 2-time MVP (1933 and 1936) and won the World Series in 1933.  He had a career record of 253-154, 1,677 strikeouts and a 2.98 ERA.  He won 20 games or more 5 years in a row (1933 to 1937).

In 1934, Hubbell set an All Star game record by striking out 5 batters in a row (the record was later broken in 1984 when Fernando Valenzuela and Doc Gooden combined to strike out 6 batters).  Funny thing is, though, is that the 5 batters Hubbell struck out all ended up becoming Hall of Famers.  He struck out, in succession, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin.