“Lou Brock was the symbol of big base stealing,” Henderson said. “But today I am the greatest of all time. Thank you very much.”

Henderson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.

A player known for his flair and style, Henderson could often be seen making snap catches in the outfield or taking a proud, long trot to first base after a home run.

Howard Bryant, a well-known sports journalist who wrote the 2022 book entitled, which delves into Henderson’s life Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Originalsaid Henderson was “one of the greatest of all time” and one of the greatest leadoff hitters of all time. Henderson also set and holds the record for most leadoff home runs.

“The style that he played with, the confidence, just the fearlessness with which he played baseball … he was just a unique player that could do anything he wanted on a baseball field and you couldn’t take your eyes off him “Bryant said during an interview with KQED’s Brian Watt earlier this year.

Over the course of his 25-year career, Henderson played for nine different clubs, including 14 seasons in Oakland over four different stops and several seasons with the New York Yankees.

He won two World Series titles, including one in Oakland in 1989 over the San Francisco Giants. The series lasted four games for Oakland, but was interrupted by the deadly Loma Prieta earthquake, which occurred in the third game of the series. He won a second title in 1993 with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Henderson was born in Chicago and spent most of his childhood in Oakland after moving to The Town with his mother.

A great athlete from a young age, Henderson grew up wanting to be a running back for the Oakland Raiders. According to Bryant, he decided to play baseball at the behest of family, friends and teachers.

Henderson attended Oakland Technical High School, one of several schools where many prominent athletes began their careers, helping to establish the city as one of the greatest places for athletic talent and development. The location of talent was heavily influenced by the Second Great Migration, in which waves of African Americans moved west from the South and Midwest, many of whom ended up in West Oakland.

In honor of Henderson, the Oakland Athletics named the baseball field at the Oakland Coliseum “Rickey Henderson Field” in 2017.

The field retained its name through the end of the 2024 season, the Oakland Athletics’ final year, with the team’s owners moving the organization to West Sacramento for at least three seasons beginning in 2025 before eventually planning a move to Las Vegas.

In his Hall of Fame induction speech, Henderson thanked his mother, wife and daughter for their support and inspiration. He said he played the game until his body told him it was time to give it up.

“When you think of me, I want you to remember the inner-city boy who played the game with all his heart and never took it for granted,” Henderson said.