Robert Calvin Hubbard (October 31, 1900 – October 17, 1977) was an American professional football player and Major League Baseball (MLB) umpire. After playing college football at Centenary College and Geneva College, Hubbard played in the National Football League (NFL) between 1927 and 1936 for the New York Giants, Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Pirates, playing the bulk of his career with the Packers.

He was also an umpire in the American League (AL) from 1936 to 1951, then worked as an umpire supervisor until 1969. George Halas affectionately called Hubbard the "Big Umpire." He grew up in modest means as the son of a small family farmer. Cal graduated from Keytesville High School, but because the school had no football team he also attended one year at Glasgow High School in nearby Glasgow, which did offer football. Hubbard chose to attend a college or university that offered football, selecting Chillicothe Business College in Chillicothe, Missouri Georgia Tech coach Bill Alexander once watched Centenary when it was in town to play Oglethorpe. "Bo, this Oglethorpe bunch has fast backs, but the line is light and green. If you turn that Hubbard loose, he might kill some of them. Have Cal 'hurt his knee', why don't you, and let him sit on the bench?"

When McMillin moved on to suburban Pittsburgh's Geneva College, Hubbard followed him and played there in 1926 (after a year of ineligibility for switching schools in 1925). Geneva opened the season with an upset of Harvard.

In an era when 6-foot players were considered tall, Hubbard was noted for remarkable speed for a player of his size, listed officially at 6-foot-2, 253 pounds but as high as 6-foot-5 in Packers' sources. Hubbard completed his college education in 1927, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Geneva College. For his efforts Hubbard won all-league honors by the press the following year. But with a lifelong dislike for big cities, he didn't feel comfortable in New York and a 1928 road game in Green Bay led him to request a trade to the Packers, threatening to retire otherwise.

Under Packers coach Curly Lambeau, Hubbard and the team won the NFL title in each of his first three years there (1929–1931). The 1929 team surrendered just 22 points. Lambeau had Hubbard play in the line, ending his "linebacker" days. The NFL named its first official All-League team in 1931 with Cal Hubbard being one of that inaugural list. He was chosen for the honor again in 1932 and 1933.

Once while playing the Chicago Bears with Ukrainian fullback Bronko Nagurski, the Bears prepared to punt. Hubbard went to the halfback Red Grange and said: "I promise not to try to block the kick, Red, but get out of the way so I can get a shot at that Polack." Grange, glad not to try to block Hubbard for once, obliged. Cal tore through the line, slammed into Nagurski and bounced off. Rising slowly, he turned to Grange and said: "Hey, Red, don't do me any more favors."

Hubbard stepped away from professional football following the 1933 season, taking a job as the line coach at Texas A&M in 1934. However, he was persuaded to return to play after that one year on the sidelines, returning to Green Bay in 1935. The Giants wooed him back to start 1936 with them, but he played only six games the entire season, five for the Giants and a final game for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the future Steelers. In addition, he umpired in the All-Star Game in 1939, 1944 and 1949, behind the plate for half of the 1939 and 1944 midsummer classics.

While he was hunting during the 1951 off-season, a ricocheting pellet from a friend's shotgun blast accidentally struck Hubbard in the right eye. The damage was extensive enough to force his retirement from baseball officiating. However, the American League soon hired him as an assistant supervisor for league officiating crews, and in 1954 he became the top supervisor, a position he would hold until retiring for good in 1969. He left in 1945 but moved back in 1948 for good.

Hubbard developed emphysema in the last few years of his life, so doctors suggested that he move away from the cold weather in Missouri. He relocated in 1976 to St. Petersburg, Florida. In recognition of his contributions to the game as an umpire and supervisor, Cal Hubbard was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in , only the fifth umpire to be so honored up to that time.

Awards and honors

  • Member, Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (inducted 1954)
  • Charter Member, Pro Football Hall of Fame (inducted 1963)
  • Member, College Football Hall of Fame (inducted 1962)
  • Member, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (inducted 1965)
  • Member, Helms Foundation Hall of Fame (inducted 1969)
  • Member, Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame (inducted 1970)
  • Named to All-Time All-Professional football team (1970)
  • Member, National Baseball Hall of Fame (inducted 1976)
  • Member, Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame (Beaver County, Pennsylvania) (inducted 1976)
  • Member, Centenary College Athletic Hall of Fame (inducted posthumously, 1990)
  • Named to the Grantland Rice All-Time, All-American football team
  • Cal Hubbard Field (football) at Milan High School in Milan, Missouri is named in his honor.
  • Cal Hubbard Field (baseball) at Keytesville, Missouri High School is named in his honor.

Head coaching record

References

  • Retrosheet