Wilker Mickey Stubblefield (February 26, 1926 – February 19, 2013) was a

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

pitcher. He played one season in the Negro leagues in 1948, as a starting pitcher for the Kansas City Monarchs. He started 2 games for the Monarchs and completed both of them. His nickname was "The Mayfield Mounder." A native of

Mayfield, Kentucky Mayfield is a home rule–class city and the county seat of Graves County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 10,017 as of the 2020 United States Census. History 19th century Mayfield is in the center of the Jackson Purchase, an eig ...

, Stubblefield served in the US Navy during World War II. He was signed as a free agent to the

Mayfield Clothiers The Mayfield Clothiers was the primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Mayfield, Kentucky that played from 1922 to 1924 and 1936–1955 (with a break from 1942 to 1945 when the league was shut down during World War II). The May ...

of the Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League in 1952, and was the first "black" player signed to play in the league. Out of safety concerns, Mickey was only allowed to pitch in front of his hometown fans. Stubblefield was later drafted by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

after integration, but never made it to Major League Baseball. Satchel Paige taught him how to throw his curveball.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stubblefield, Wilker Mickey Kansas City Monarchs players Mayfield Clothiers players Duluth Dukes players 1926 births 2013 deaths People from Mayfield, Kentucky 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople