Stewart honors lifelong friend Henderson with heartfelt message originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

As the baseball world mourns the loss of the legendary Rickey Henderson, longtime friend and former track teammate Dave Stewart paid a touching tribute to the legacy of a larger-than-life icon.

“I can’t explain what someone who has been present in every memory from childhood to now means to me or what it means to come to terms with not having a tomorrow by your side,” Stewart said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Rickey Henderson was the best ballplayer many know, but that’s nothing compared to the brother he is to me.”

Henderson and Stewart first met while playing Little League together in Oakland and formed a close bond that spanned the next five decades as the two rose to baseball superstardom.

The duo was a cornerstone of the 1989 World Athletics Championship squad and spent five seasons together with Oakland from 1989 to 1992 and 1995.

Stewart spoke with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale on Saturday about his special relationship with Henderson.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Stewart told Nightengale, “I still can’t. I just can’t believe it. We’ve known each other practically our whole lives.”

“That was my buddy.”

Stewart shared that when he was younger, Henderson didn’t shine on the diamond the way many were used to in his 25-year MLB career, which made his legendary baseball accomplishments even more impressive.

“He wasn’t that good of a baseball player growing up,” Stewart told Nightengale. “He had great ability. He could run and do things. But he would probably admit that out of three major sports he was the best in football, then baseball, then basketball, he still had a lot to learn because his first choice was to be a great running back.

Stewart won three World Series titles in his storied career, but his retirement from the Track and Field teams alongside Henderson still remains one of his most memorable moments.

“I respected and loved Rollie (Fingers) and Reggie (Jackson) and Catfish (Hunter), but when my number was retired along with Rickie by the A’s,” Stewart told Nightengale, “that was a big, big deal for me .” .

“I remember when I decided to retire in 1995, he hadn’t spoken to me for two, maybe three weeks. He kept telling me to retire when he retired. He wanted me to continue playing as long as he did (2003). When my number was retired, what was special about it was that he and I were together, two kids from Oakland, and our numbers were retired together by the organization we loved.”

Henderson played 25 MLB seasons with the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Anaheim Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Oakland Tech graduate was selected by the Athletics in the fourth round of the 1976 MLB Draft and three years later he made his big league debut with Oakland.

It didn’t take long for Henderson to establish himself as one of the best MLB players. In 1980, his first full season, he was selected to the AL All-Star selection and finished 10th in MVP voting.

Henderson is arguably the greatest leadoff in MLB history and holds the MLB record for most runs scored with 2,295. He also finished with 297 home runs and 1,115 RBI.