Green Bay Packers: Top 10 offensive linemen of all time

. Published with permission of Aaron Kramer

#5 Robert Calvin “Cal” Hubbard

How many NFL players have been inducted into both the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.?

Only one … and he was a member of the Green Bay Packers.

Hubbard was a 6-4, 250-pound offensive tackle and end. By 1920s standards, Cal was huge. He had an awesome combination of speed and strength. He was considered the most feared lineman of his time.

Cal played in the NFL from 1927-36 for the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers. He played on four NFL championship teams including three straight with the Packers in 1929-31. Hubbard was All-NFL six years, is a member of the All-1920s team and was named NFL’s all-time offensive tackle in 1969.

New York Times sportswriter Arthur Daley quoted from Cal’s  good friend, former teammate and coach, Steve Owen – a quote that provides a vivid description of who Cal was on the football field:

"“According to Steve Owen — it was Hubbard who revolutionized defensive play. The seven man line was the accepted defense until restless Cal discovered he was missing too much fun and too many tackles by staying anchored in one spot in the scrimmage line. Because he was so fast he was able to stay back a few yards and either plug up the hole he had vacated or make tackles on the other side of the line. Thus he became the first roving backer-up. Steve also tells how Cal would occasionally station himself as a flanking end and hurl him his two hundred and sixty pounds at the enemy line, spilling his opposition like bowling pins.”"

So Cal Hubbard became the league’s first-ever line backer-up or linebacker.

As a football player, Cal was a rough and tough as they came. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

Next: Best Lineman not inducted into the Pro Football HOF