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Ken Singleton
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 148 of 1234 players
Kenneth Wayne Singleton
Born: June 10, 1947 at New York, N.Y.
Throws: Right Bats: Both
Height: 6.04 Weight: 212

Ken Singleton was the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup on June 10, 2003, May 27, 2009, June 10, 2010, May 30, 2011, June 10, 2011, December 24, 2015, May 7, 2016, December 9, 2018, and February 22, 2023.

First Mets game: June 24, 1970
Last Mets game: September 30, 1971

Share your memories of Ken Singleton HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY: Snowball I don't know if this is true or not, but I remember hearing that Ken Singleton was allergic to whatever material the Mets uniforms were made from. The Mets supposedly knew of this allergy, but refused to give him a different uniform, because the didn't want Singleton to have special treatment. When Singleton got to Baltimore, his uniform was of a different kind of fabric, and he became a star. It sounds like an "Urban Legend" to me, but this seems as good a place as any to help spread it. cj January 20, 2001 i always liked ken singleton I had the pleasure of meeting him in florida years ago during spring training when he broadcast the expos games.i hear him accasionly as one of the yankee anouncers hes very good. EG February 14, 2001 Even at 7 years old, I remember being so upset about this trade. Although Rusty certainly gave the Mets some pretty good years. Richard Kissel March 30, 2001 Kenny Singleton was a good ballplayer, hailing from Mount Vernon, New York. I initially disliked Kenny since, when he was brought up in 1970, Eddie Kranepool was sent to the minors. He was traded a couple of days after Gil Hodges died, bringing Le Grande Orange, Rusty Staub to New York. Won Doney April 6, 2001 KEN SINGLETON IS FROM MOUNT VERNON?!?! That's my Dad's hoemtown. ...It's a small world. BERT August 11, 2002 The one thing I remember most about Ken is that he had the most beautiful wife of all the players of his time. Joe Figliola August 20, 2002 I must concur with Burt. I remember seeing Ken's wife in the stands during the 1979 World Series and flipping out. That was the talk of all my friends at high school the next day. It was mentioned during our discussions that Ken's wife was white. But we didn't say it in a racist sort of way; it was an acknowledgement. She could've been purple with red spots but we could care less. Mrs. Singleton ranks up there with Roger McDowell's wife (I think her first name was Karen) and Nancy Seaver as one of the hottest Met wives in history. (I am sure there are others, but I can't recall.) Ken, by the way, hit the first home run I ever saw at Shea. It was in a game against the Dodgers in late August that the Mets won 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth. Kenny went 3-for-3 that game, and Tommie Agee drove in the winning run as a pinch hitter. What an inaugural game! Deana September 30, 2002 I do remember reading years ago that Ken Singleton was allergic to wool uniforms. Didn't know all that other stuff though! Buddy Kerr November 27, 2002 I remember Kenny when played for the NY Mets farm team in 1967. This was single A ball in Winter Haven, FL. He always stood out. I had a feeling that if any one on that team made it to the majors it would be him. He was always very serious about the game. I enjoyed playing catch with him. I was the batboy at that time. Bob D. November 27, 2002 It would have been great to find a way to keep Ken Singleton and still get Rusty Staub. He really did become a solid major league star in Montreal and Baltimore. The outfield seemed to be set with Jones, Agee and Staub, but Agee only had 1 more injury filled season and Jones only had 3 more years with the Mets. The fans would have gone crazy at the time if either one of them had been sacrificed to make room for Singleton, but in hindsight it would have been nice to have someone who hit for power and average and drew a lot of walks at the top of the order through the rest of the 70's and into the 80's. I think the uniform allergy thing was a factor in Montreal and they actually did give him a uniform made from a different fabric. Kenny M August 29, 2003 I recall coming home from 2nd grade one day and my mother telling me the Mets traded Ken Singleton.. Although I liked that they received Staub, I cried. He was a very positive image for me in my earliest of Mets memories...Imagine Singleton in his prime on the Mets? Staub was a key addition, but amazingly he was gone by 1975. I wish Singleton was never traded. Dino April 9, 2004 You are correct about the wool uniform thing. However, you have the wrong team. It was the Montreal Expos uniform that Singleton was allergic to...not the Mets. Kiwiwriter July 1, 2004 Great player, fine broadcaster. Came over as a young executive type in his approach to baseball and life. The real reason the Mets put him in the Staub package was because he had a white wife, and to M. Donald Grant and his crew of racists, particularly in 1971, during the big days of the Black Panthers, that was forbidden. (look what they did to Cleon Jones) It was a good short-term deal, bad long-term one. Barry August 6, 2004 I can remember seeing Ken Singleton's picture in the Mets' 1972 yearbook as a seven year old. The ironic thing was that he was already gone, but the yearbook apparently had already gone to press. Take a look, he's in there. Think about this: If the Mets hadn't traded Singleton, if they hadn't traded Amos Otis for Joe Foy, and if they had drafted Reggie Jackson instead of Steve Chilcott, that would have been the National League All- Star outfield for the next 10 years and a few more pennant and championship banners might be flying from the Shea Stadium flagpoles. KMT March 4, 2005 My favorite Met from the time they called him up! He was all set to take over in right field for the next 10 years! In hindsight the trade was o.k. for both teams. I always wondered, would they have gone to the Series in '73 if they hadn't made that deal? Jonathan Stern March 5, 2005 That's a great question, KMT! Of course, had the Mets not made that trade, we would have still had Tim Foli and Mike Jorgenson as well. Would they have been moved? If not, who would have been moved to make room for them? Boswell? Krane? Of course, from what I have heard, no one wanted Foli around. The 1973 team got into the postseason by the skin of their teeth. It may be impossible to know whether Singleton would have helped the team more. Certainly, Rusty's shoulder injury was the probable difference in the World Series. And, at the time, Rusty was the more experienced player, and a particularly intelligent one at that. Singleton had so many great years in Montreal and Baltimore, it's hard to believe that also he had put in significant time with the Mets. Eddie March 15, 2005 It seems everyone picked the Mets organization's pockets any time a young talented hitter came on the horizon. Singleton should have been a Met for 15 years. I also loved Rusty Staub but he could have been gotten without giving up Singleton. The Mets had tons of young pitching prospects at that time. MikeMak April 8, 2005 I remember hearing that Ken Singleton grew up in the same house in Mt. Kisco that was once owned by Ralph Branca. Andy the Walrus August 20, 2006 Considering the Mets got Rusty for him, it wasn't a bad trade. However, he was missed in those years like 78, 79, 80, etc. Glad he won a ring with Baltimore. I remember when a group of us were sitting close enough to him that we sang Happy Birthday to him while he was in right field. When he caught a fly for out number three (of course) he tossed it our way. Fans remember gestures like that forever. I still like him, even though he's employed by the dark side (Darth Steinbrenner) on that propaganda network. Kevin Conway September 1, 2006 When I was 13 I played sandlot ball for a Bronx/Westchester sandlot team called Eastchester. Lou Salamon Jr was our great coach. It was the same team Ken played for when he was in HS. I remember at least one late winter/early spring we had a tryout in a local HS gym and Ken came to speak to us, sign autographs etc. He was a young Met, maybe 1st or 2nd year---great guy. Steve Wishnak September 30, 2007 I became a Mets fan September 30, 1971. My dad took me to my first Mets game and the only thing I always remembered about that game was that Ken Singleton hit two home runs and that Tom Seaver pitched. I wish the Mets had kept Ken Singleton because he was a rookie on the rise. RF Mojica January 18, 2008 Even after all these years, Ken Singleton is probably the best every day player (non-pitcher) to ever come out of the Met's farm system. I always thought of him as a real pro, a top notch dependable player who never was regarded as highly as he should have been. He also should have been the AL MVP in 1979, not Don Baylor. Baylor had a good year, but Singleton was better. Don Engbers May 1, 2008 I was a teammate of Kenny's in 1969 at Memphis and again in 1970 in Norfolk where I roomed with him until I was traded to the Cardinal's AAA club in the American Association. Kenny was a great player and a really nice guy. My wife and I had the pleasure of seeing him a few times over the years and he is the same nice person that I became friends with way back in 1969. Mark July 22, 2008 Wish the Mets had hung on to this guy. Yeah he went in the Rusty Staub deal but he had a real solid career. Pat DeSpirito April 26, 2009 I grew up near Kenny in Mt. Vernon, N.Y. We would walk to Graham elementary school together sometimes. He was a great guy. When the Mets traded him my whole family was upset. Norma March 18, 2012 Ken's wife's name was Collette and she was gorgeous and very sweet. She had a beautiful sister also that I met. They were French. Wks April 29, 2019 Actually, the allergy was to the synthetic uniforms used when Singleton played for the Expos. He had to wear flannel instead. Larry’s Mets Memories June 13, 2022 His September 1971 surge should’ve rendered him non-tradeable: tall, talented switch-hitter, local personality and a right fielder. But Grant & Scheffing couldn’t bear the site of 3 Black outfielders. Also, the pressure to return to NLE contention made all youngsters, especially Blacks, expendable to the trade market for established talent. Rusty, probably to the surprise of G&S, was available, so they get not only their white Right Fielder in exchange for KS, but a “colorful” one no less -the trade was thus hard to resist. Not the worst in Met history, but when Grant gradually came to realize that Rusty was likely gay (perceived as bisexual back then - homosexual was almost unthinkable to the stodgy & intolerant Grant) he “trades” him to Detroit for the retiring Mickey Lolich. In the aggregate: Foli, Jorgy, Ken and Rusty -for the 300-lb Lolich! So in 1976, we are finally treated to our long overdue, Heaven Sent White and Straight right fielder: Mike Vail ! -who in addition was “bi-sport”(basketball). So check that: the worst trade in Met history!

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