photo courtesy of astro twilight (cc)Rickey Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball MVP Hall of Famer left fielder who played for the Oakland Athletics (among other teams); during his lengthy baseball career Henderson was famous as a great home run hitter and AMAZING at stealing bases! He played in the majors from 1979 to 2003, including four different stints with the A's.
Moving to Oakland as a young child, Henderson graduated from Oakland Technical High School.
Henderson was drafted by the A's in 1976, and played with several of their farm teams through 1979. 3 On June 24, 1979, he made his major league debut with Oakland, batting 2 for 4 and stealing a base. 3
In 1982, Henderson set the single-season record for stolen bases with 130; the record has never been approached since. 3 Local residents may remember the day (pictured at left) in 1991 when Rickey broke Lou Brock's all time stolen base record. He went on to set the record at 1,406 career steals.
In 2006, Lucky A's Field at Arroyo Viejo Park was renamed Rickey Henderson Baseball Field. 2
In 2009, Carter Field at the former Carter Middle School where the Oakland Tech baseball team plays was renamed Rickey Henderson Field in his honor. 1
Links and References
- Oakland Tech’s ‘Field of Dreams’ to be Renamed for Rickey Henderson
- Agenda Report Office of Parks and Recreation, July 13, 2006
- Rickey Henderson on Wikipedia
