Fifty years after Jackie Robinson integrated Major League Baseball, the sport held a ceremony honoring him before the New York Mets hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers at Shea Stadium. With President Clinton and Robinson’s widow, Rachel, behind him on the field, commissioner Bud Selig told the crowd that MLB would retire Robinson’s No. 42 in perpetuity.“Those players,” Selig continued, then paused as the fans roared at the surprise. “Those players who currently wear 42, including those like Butch Huskey of the Mets … who wear the number in tribute to Jackie, may continue to wear the number for the remainder of their careers.”On that night — April 15, 1997 — Huskey would lead off the fifth inning of a scoreless game with a single, sparking a two-run rally for the Mets on their way to a 5-0 victory. Huskey was forever linked to Robinson, and proud of it.“I never thought that I would ever see something like this in my life,” he told reporters after the game. “For Major League Baseball to retire Jackie’s number, that’s the utmost reward I can say I’ve gotten in my life.”Huskey died on Friday, the Mets announced on X. Jay Horwitz, the team’s vice president for alumni relations, said the cause was a blood clot in his lung, and that Huskey died in his hometown of Lawton, Okla., after having trouble breathing this morning. He was 54 years old and is survived by his wife, Kristy, a son, Bryce, and daughters Kennedy and Kyrbi.