Former MLB No. 42 Wearer Butch Huskey Dies at 54

Q: What untold story led this Mets slugger to claim baseball’s most sacred number just before it was banned forever?

The untold story is that Butch Huskey did not take No. 42 by accident or for style — he switched from No. 10 to No. 42 in 1995 specifically to honor Jackie Robinson, a figure he had admired since childhood. That connection ran deeper than many fans realized. Huskey later said he had written a high school essay about Robinson after an English teacher, knowing how much he loved baseball, encouraged him to explore Robinson’s legacy. By the time he reached the majors, Robinson’s example already carried personal meaning for him, especially as a Black player. Huskey said wearing 42 “meant the world” not only to him but to “a lot of other kids, people of color,” because Robinson endured hardships that made later generations’ path easier. When MLB retired No. 42 across the sport on April 15, 1997, Huskey was on the field at Shea Stadium and initially feared the number would be taken off his back immediately. He later recalled that he had no full warning about the scale of the ceremony, only sensing something major because President Bill Clinton and heavy security were present. Once MLB announced that current wearers could keep the number for the rest of their careers, Huskey became one of the few grandfathered players. That is why his claim to baseball’s most sacred number was so meaningful: it was a deliberate tribute rooted in personal reverence for Robinson, and it left Huskey as one of the last active links between Robinson’s legacy and everyday major league play.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 14

Butch Huskey, a former Mets first baseman and one of the last major leaguers allowed to keep Jackie Robinson’s No. 42, has died at 54, the Mets said.
Huskey switched from No. 10 to No. 42 in 1995, two years before MLB retired the number across the league and grandfathered in players already wearing it.
That exemption let him keep No. 42 with the Mets, Mariners and Twins; only four players wore it in the majors after Huskey, including Mariano Rivera and Mo Vaughn.
Huskey debuted in 1993 and had his best season in 1997, batting .287 with an .822 OPS, 24 home runs and 81 RBIs before later stints in Seattle, Boston and Colorado.
His death revives attention on Robinson’s 1947 barrier-breaking legacy and the shrinking group of players tied directly to MLB’s retirement of No. 42.