Taveras Tragedy Evokes Memories of Cubs’ Hubbs

St Louis Cardinals v Miami MarlinsToday’s column from CBS Chicago

(CBS) In sports, as in life, there’s no more haunting question than, “What if?”
That’s something, of course, that fans of the Chicago Cubs know all too well.

What if the Cubs hadn’t fallen apart down the stretch in 1969? What if Greg Maddux had never left for Atlanta? What if Moises Alou had managed to keep his cool? What if Alex Gonzalez had turned a routine double play? What if Mark Prior and Kerry Wood had stayed healthy?

And before any of that, what if Ken Hubbs hadn’t died?

“What if,” Keith Hubbs said to FOXSports.com this past February on the 50th anniversary of his brother’s untimely death in 1964. “If, if, if.”

Back in 1962, after a stellar debut season on the North Side, Cubs second baseman Kenny Hubbs was named the National League Rookie of the Year and became the first rookie in history to earn a Gold Glove after he set a major league record with 418 consecutive fielding chances without an error.

He was only 20 years old.

Less than two years later on Feb. 15, 1964, Hubbs took off from Provo, Utah, piloting a small Cessna that he owned. Bound for southern California, he never made it as the plane crashed into Utah Lake just outside Provo, killing both Hubbs and his passenger.

He was only 22 years old.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com

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