Wilbur Huckle

Wilbur Huckle

Wilbur Allan Huckle (born December 23, 1937) is a former baseball prospect for the New York Mets, who achieved "fan favorite" status, despite never actually making the team. Wilbur's reputation — presumably developed from spring training dispatches and broadcasts, and augmented by the assonance of his name — was such that fans began appearing at Shea Stadium, during the building's inaugural season of 1964, wearing "Wilbur Huckle for President" pins. Huckle threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) tall, and weighed 175 lb (79 kg).

As far as appearance and position, one blogger remembers him this way:

"Wilbur was a Mets farmhand in the '60's, a shortstop who also played some third base. There was really nothing special about him except for his name and the fact that he looked exactly the way you might expect someone named Wilbur Huckle to look, with red hair and a million freckles."

According to journalist Keith Olbermann, photographer Steve Moore recalls that Huckle actually received a callup to the Mets in 1963, on the same day as Cleon Jones, but was optioned out without ever appearing in a game. Mr. Moore's contention has not been verified to date and has, in fact, been challenged by the researchers contributing to Mets by the Numbers http://www.mbtn.net. The author there contends that Huckle indeed was invited to work out with the Mets in September 1963, but was never added to the major league roster. The Website offers a transaction record and newspaper clipping as evidence.

A * indicates data is incomplete.