Hubbard, Texas : The first man to achieve “another” 50-50
- Makio Mukai
- Oct 3
- 5 min read
In the summer of 2011, I was driving around the US, mainly in Alabama and Mississippi, but I decided to take a quick trip to Texas as well. There was a place I really wanted to visit.
Hubbard, Texas, is a rural town with a population of less than 2,000 people. It is the hometown of Tris Speaker, who played in the major leagues from 1907 to 1928 and left a great record. Speaker's career batting average of .345 is the sixth best in the history of the major leagues, and his career hits of 3,514 are the fifth best in the history of the major leagues.
Speaker was born and raised in Hubbard and graduated from the local Hubbard High School. And Hubbard High School has an exhibition corner commemorating Speaker, a graduate of the school. So, as an avid fan of the major leagues, it would be a shame not to visit it at least once.
When I arrived at Hubbard, I was able to find Hubbard High School right away. The school building was a beautiful, brick building.
I tried to open the front door to go inside. However, the door was locked. What's going on? Are they not letting me in because it's summer vacation?
I noticed a small piece of paper taped to the door. It had something written on it. I read it and it said something like, "Only open on Wednesdays and Saturdays. In case of emergency, please call this number." The day I visited was a Tuesday.
I immediately decided to make a phone call, using the cell phone I had brought with me from Japan. "In a situation like this, I'd have to make an international call from Japan to the United States. What's the correct procedure for doing that?" I thought frantically.
Somehow I got through and spoke to a middle-aged man with a cheerful voice. Of course, all I could do was try to get his sympathy.
"I came all the way from Japan just to see the Tris Speaker exhibit in this school building. Could you please open the door for me?"
He answered without a moment's hesitation.
"Today is Tuesday, so no. We'll be open tomorrow, Wednesday, so please come tomorrow."
It was unfortunate, but of course it was. I had no choice but to give up. I went back to the main road, found a motel, and decided to stay the night.
The next day. The entrance door to Hubbard High School was unlocked. I quietly opened the door and went inside, and it was completely silent. There was no one there. I stood in the middle of the lobby and called out loud, "Is anyone there?" and a white elderly lady came out from a room that looked like a library next to the lobby. She had a friendly smile on her face.
I introduced myself. I told her that I was an avid Major League Baseball fan, and that I had come from Japan because I heard there was an exhibition corner for Tris Speaker. The lady smiled even more and said, "I'm so glad you came all the way from Japan. There is indeed an exhibition corner for Mr. Speaker, but there are other exhibition corners, so you should take a look at those first."
I wasn't interested in the other exhibition corners, but I followed the lady. I was afraid I would be punished if I went against the lady, who was a bundle of goodwill.
In the room she took me to, there were many faded old newspapers reporting the city's news and photos of graduates on display. I wasn't interested at all, but all I could do was pretend to be curious and listen to the lady's explanations, nodding affably.
Thinking that the lady would be happier if I asked her a question rather than just listening to her explanation, I casually asked her, "When was this school building built?" I got a surprising answer. "It's from 1891. But after the last graduates left in the 1960s, the school building hasn't been used. It just remains as a historical monument. The high school has now merged with another one and is located far away." "So that means this school building hasn't been rebuilt for over 100 years? Does that mean Speaker studied here?" "That would be right."
I was taken by the lady to the room that was the Speaker exhibition area. It was a room near the lobby on the first floor. It must have been a classroom in the past. It was just the size of a school classroom.
In the room, there were old black and white photos of Speaker when he was still active, old newspapers reporting on his achievements, and a drawing of Speaker by someone.
One thing I learned for the first time from the exhibit was that Speaker was the first Texan to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Until then, I had never thought about the home states of baseball Hall of Fame players, but this incident made me start thinking about it.
I noticed a colored panel photo hanging at the edge of the room. The moment I saw the panel photo, I felt happy and thought.” Yes, this is it, this is the true essence of Tris Speaker.” Only those who are very knowledgeable about major league baseball will understand the meaning of the panel photo the moment they see it. It is a panel with a composite photo of two major leaguers. The large and prominent photo in the foreground is Craig Biggio, who retired from active play in 2007. Behind him, quietly, is Tris Speaker.
These two men had one thing in common: Texas. Speaker, a Texas native, played for four teams but never played for a major league team in his home state of Texas. When Speaker played, Texas didn't have a major league team. Biggio, on the other hand, was from New York, but spent his entire 20-year career as a major leaguer playing for only one team in Texas, the Houston Astros. Their major league careers were completely different, but both men have a connection to Texas. Furthermore, both Speaker and Biggio achieved 3,000 career hits. However, these two have something else in common that is even more amazing.
In 1912, Speaker achieved 50 doubles and 50 stolen bases. This 50-50 record was achieved not only by being able to hit hard hits, but also by being fast on his feet, and it was a first in major league history. 86 years later, in 1998, Biggio became the second player to achieve this record.
Just like the 50-50 record of 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases that Shohei Ohtani achieved in 2024, this another 50-50 record of 50 doubles and 50 stolen bases is also a great record.
By the way, Speaker’s 792 career doubles are the most in major league history. And Biggio's 668 career doubles rank sixth in major league history.
In a corner of an old school building in a rural town, I was able to experience the history of major league baseball and the fun of records that are relevant to the present day. I was very happy.
The white elderly lady had not spoken to me since we entered the Tris Speaker exhibition room, allowing me to freely view the exhibits to my heart's content.
I expressed my heartfelt gratitude to this lovely and kind lady before leaving Hubbard High School.
(If I’ve made a mistake or left out something important, please let me know. I’ll try to make corrections or additions.)