Oakland A's Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson dies at 65

Henderson holds the record for most career stolen bases and is regarded as one the best leadoff hitters in Major League Baseball history

By Andrew Mendez • Published 2 hours ago • Updated 10 mins ago

Oakland Athletics baseball Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson died Friday at age 65, NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California confirmed on Saturday.

Henderson holds the record for most career stolen bases and is regarded as one the best leadoff hitters in Major League Baseball history. His death comes days before his birthday on Christmas Day.

Henderson, who grew up in Oakland, was a first baseman for the A's in the 1980s and 1990s. Henderson had turned down multiple football scholarships to sign with the Athletics in 1976.

In his first major league season in 1980, Henderson broke Hall of Famer Ty Cobb's 65-year-old American League stolen base record of 96 with 100 swipes. During the 1982 season, he stole 130 bases, breaking Lou Brock's major league single-season record of 118.

Henderson's family originally came from Arkansas, like many African American families during the Second Great Migration from 1940 to 1970, and moved westward, landing them in West Oakland.

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