Former MLB pitcher Hobbie dies at 77

A former Major League Baseball pitcher who lived in the area has passed away.

Glen Hobbie, who played in the majors from 1957-1964, died on Aug. 9 in Springfield. He was 77.

Hobbie played most of his career with the Chicago Cubs, debuting at age 21 and pitching in 271 of his 284 career games with the club before being traded to St. Louis Cardinals in the middle of the 1964 season.

He pitched in 13 games for the Cardinals before being demoted to the minors. St. Louis would win the World Series that year.

On Jan. 2, 1965, Hobbie was traded to the Detroit Tigers, but he would not reach the majors with the Tigers.

Hobbie was signed by the Cubs in 1955 after his career at Witt High School in Montgomery County.

He debuted with Chicago at Wrigley Field on Sept. 20, 1957, tossing the last two innings of a 9-3 loss against the Milwaukee Braves.

Hobbie retired all three batters in the eighth inning, but faced a tough test in the ninth, opening that inning against Hall of Famers Eddie Matthews and Hank Aaron – who singled and doubled, respectively – and he also faced solid veterans in Joe Torre and Andy Pafko.

He allowed two runs on four hits in that inning, and ended the season with a disappointing 10.38 earned-run average over 4 1/3 innings in two appearances.

Despite that poor line, Hobbie made the Cubs' roster in 1958, pitching in a career-high 55 games (16 starts), and going 10-6 over 168 1/3 innings. He struck out 91 batters and finished the year with a 3.74 ERA, the second-best of his career.

He threw his first of 11 career shutouts on May 6 against the Cincinnati Reds. Hall of Famer Frank Robinson was struck out twice by Hobbie in the 4-0 victory.

Hobbie had a career-high 16 wins in each 1959 and 1960, pitching 234 and 258 2/3 innings in those two seasons. He had the dubious honor of leading the league with 20 losses in 1960.

On Aug. 25, 1960, Hobbie earned the win with a complete game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Not only did he strike out Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente that day, he also hit his first career home run – in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the ninth inning to seal the 2-1 victory.

He earned the Opening Day start in 1961 for the Cubs, taking the loss on April 11 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati.

Hobbie pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs on 11 hits and a walk, while striking out three.

From 1961-1964, Hobbie would win 20 more games, but lost 42, finishing his career with a 62-81 record and a career 4.20 ERA. He had 682 strikeouts over 1,263 innings.

Offensively, Hobbie was a .131 career hitter, but that included four home runs and 16 RBI in 398 at-bats.

Hobbie was assigned to the AAA Syracuse Chiefs in 1965, pitching in 29 games for the Detroit affiliate and going 8-8 in his final season as a professional.

Following his baseball career, Hobbie was a supervisor for the Roller Derby Association in Litchfield, and he was a member of the Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Vandalia.