Hubbard's Favorite Pastime

Hubbard has an ongoing love affair with the game of baseball. It all started with a centerfielder known as the Grey Eagle. Tris Speaker started his professional baseball career at the age of 18 fresh off the dusty diamond in Hubbard as he signed with Cleburne in he Texas League. In 1920 he took the Boston Red Sox (Correction from Tris's nephew: the Cleveland Indians) to the World Championship as a player and manager at the young age of 32.

Tris, playing with Boston and Cleveland, had a lifetime batting average of .345 over a 22 year career and is generally recognized as the best fielding centerfielder of all time. Many of his playing years resulted in his batting average finishing second only to Ty Cobb. Tris beat Cobb one year. He was the first person elected to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and was the seventh person voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

After baseball, Tris was one of the few friends of a very difficult Ty Cobb. They thoroughly enjoyed suckering oil men in Dallas and Ft. Worth into big money golf games. Tris also served in retirement as a part owner and executive of the Cleveland Indians baseball team and lived on his ranch in Hubbard until his death.

When Hubbard folks talk baseball they generally argue about their favorites. One of those frequently mentioned is a pitcher who played many years in the Black Leagues before going to the Majors. His name was Satchel Paige, and he was known as much for his wisdom as for his phenomenal record and longevity. His famous quotes included the following:

Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching.

Pick a spot and throw it there because the home plate don't move.

Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you.

Don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines.

Nothin helps the body like a few no hitters.

Win some,
Lose some,
Some get rained out,
But you got to dress for all of em.

Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter.

Sound advice even if you don't play baseball,

Jim

P. S. As this blog went to press we received the tragic news of the Great University of Texas baseball team losing the final game of the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

The University of Texas was plagued by injuries, poor health care, global warming, illegal immigration across the Louisana border, high winds, umpires with cajun accents, bad hops as wild as a drunken coonass in the French Quarter on a Saturday night, and a rawdy pack of fans expelling CO2 after serious episodes of really bad cajun cooking.

Final score: THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS 4, lsu 11.