Rickey Henderson, who electrified fans with his unparalleled ability to steal bases and scored more runs than any other player in baseball history, died Friday, according to multiple reports and was confirmed Saturday by Newsweek Sports.

Hall of Famer and former teammate Dave Winfield confirmed the sad news on his Instagram account Saturday, as did Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, on Twitter/X:

We are saddened by the passing of our friend Rickey Henderson, the greatest leadoff hitter in the world @MLB Story! We were proud to induct him into our Hall of Game in 2015 along with Fergie Jenkins, Ozzie Smith and the late Luis Tiant. Condolences to his family, friends and legion of fans! pic.twitter.com/ZlVyjHwETY

– Bob Kendrick (@nlbmprez) December 21, 2024

Winfield, also a special adviser to the executive director of the MLB Players Association, wrote: “I still cannot believe I have lost one of my favorite teammates and great friend Rickey Henderson. Rest in peace.”

Henderson’s 66th birthday is Wednesday, Christmas Day.

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The core of Henderson’s legacy was his ability to steal bases. He stole 1,406 career bases, delighting fans in Oakland, New York, Toronto, San Diego, Anaheim, Seattle, Boston and Los Angeles.

Henderson was born in Chicago and grew up in Oakland. He played 14 of his 25 major league seasons for his hometown Athletics. When he played his final game with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003, he was also baseball’s all-time scoring leader with 2,295 runs scored. In 2017, the A’s named the Oakland Coliseum field after Henderson.

Henderson made his debut with the Oakland A’s at the age of 20. Three years later, in 1982, he set a modern record by stealing 130 bases. A talented all-around hitter who combined bat control, power and plate discipline, Henderson hit .300 or better in four of his first nine seasons.

Along the way, Henderson was traded to the New York Yankees in December 1984. Over the next four seasons in the Bronx, he made four American League All-Star teams and led the AL in stolen bases three times.

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Midway through the 1989 season, Henderson was traded back to Oakland, allowing him to play in the World Series for the first time that fall. The A’s defeated the San Francisco Giants in four games, giving Henderson the first of his two World Series rings.

In 1990, Henderson hit .325 with an AL-leading on-base percentage of .439 and stole 65 bases. That year, he won his only career Most Valuable Player award, as well as the last of his three career Silver Slugger Awards.

Henderson was named to his tenth and final All-Star team in 1991 and made his final World Series appearance with the A’s that same year, losing to the Cincinnati Reds.

As the A’s entered a rebuilding process in 1993, they traded Henderson to the Toronto Blue Jays mid-season. This allowed Henderson to capture his final World Series ring when Toronto defeated the Philadelphia Phillies for the championship in October.

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Henderson re-signed with the A’s after the season. His third stay in Oakland lasted another two years. That began a vagabond tour of the major leagues that saw Henderson play for seven different teams in his final eight seasons – including a fourth stint with Oakland in 1998. That year, at age 39, Henderson led the league in steals with 66 for the final time.

Henderson’s outstanding personality and demeanor endeared him to fans. He often referred to himself in the third person in interviews, leaving a series of apocryphal beginnings to match his colorful statistics.

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A prototypical leadoff hitter, Henderson continued his playing career with independent minor league teams – the Newark Bears in 2004 and the San Diego Surf Dogs in 2005 – even when no major league organizations came calling. Four years later, in 2009, the A’s permanently retired Henderson’s number 24.

“If my uniform doesn’t get dirty,” Henderson reportedly said, “I haven’t done anything in the baseball game.”

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