A pitching mound master with a first class work ethic, Oral Hildebrand started over 15 games for eight straight seasons, 1932 thru 1939, and completed 80 of 182 career starts. His accomplishments include six consecutive years of working over 160 innings, including two seasons of pitching over 200 innings.

He pitched his first six years with the Cleveland Indians during an era in which the Indians were in the first division of the American League almost every season. In 1933 he had a 16-11 record, a 3.76 earned run average and led the major leagues with 6 complete game shutouts.

In 1939 pitching for the New York Yankees Oral Hildebrand rang up a sterling 10-4 record with a career-best 3.06 ERA, and got an opportunity to pitch in his first World Series. In the Series in which the Yankees sweep the Cincinnati Reds in 4 games, Oral Hildebrand started Game 4 yielded just two hits and no runs in 4 innings, and was not the pitcher of record.