There are some professional athletes who go about their careers with quiet efficiency. For others, larger-than-life feats in their chosen sport can only be echoed by a larger-than-life personality. Rickey Henderson, whose long career in baseball took him to many an MLB team. embodied the latter tendency. According to NBC Sports’ Ali Thanawalla, Henderson died on December 20 at the age of 65, 15 years after being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Any discussion of Henderson’s career would have to begin with his penchant for stealing bases. He currently holds the league record for all-time bases stolen — 1.741 — and it’s by a margin of almost 500. You don’t get to that number easily; it’s a combination of speed, timing and a precise understanding of the sport. It’s worth pointing out here that Henderson didn’t just steal bases in the early years of his career; his skill at it endured over the course of his time in baseball.
In the wake of Henderson’s death, several of his peers took to social media with tributes. “I still cannot believe I’ve lost one of my favorite teammates and great friend Rickey Henderson. Rest in peace,” wrote fellow Hall of Famer Dave Winfield on Instagram. Other clips of Henderson’s achievements and off-the-field interactions also surfaced, creating a portrait of one of the game’s most distinctive players.
Henderson’s time in Major League Baseball isn’t quite the entirety of his career — he also spent some time playing for minor league teams and seeking a return to MLB. Actor Adam Conover recalled seeing Henderson play during this time in a post on BlueSky. “It was an independent league game in a 6,000 seat stadium on Long Island, but Ricky [sic] played his heart out and stole two bases,” Conover recalled. “Fucking awesome; never forgot it.”
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His life and legacy remain deeply contentiousThe Athletics have retired Henderson’s number 24, making him one of only five players to receive than honor. In the essay that accompanies his entry in the Baseball Hall of Fame, one quote from his former teammate Mitchell Page neatly summarizes Henderson’s relationship to his chosen sport: “It wasn’t until I saw Rickey that I understood what baseball was about.”
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