It’s been two days since Baseball Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson passed away at the age of 65. One of his best friends in the game, former big leaguer Dave Stewart, can’t believe the Man of Steal has gone to the other side.

 

The last time Stewart saw Henderson was in late October at the Reggie Jackson Softball Classic at the Oakland Coliseum. Henderson was in great spirits and enjoying the event in his hometown. As Stewart puts it, he never saw Henderson have a bad day away from the game of baseball. Henderson loved life.

 

 

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“My parents were 93 and 103 when they passed and it’s a lot easier to accept. That’s more than a full life. But 65 [years of age], that’s a little bit harder pill to swallow,” Stewart said via telephone. “I woke up this morning and I’m still feeling the same way. … On top of that, [Henderson] didn’t seem like the person we would have this conversation about this soon.”

Black Ace Dave Stewart & Rickey Henderson’s Friendship Dates Back To High School 

 

The friendship between Stewart and Henderson goes as far back as high school in Oakland. Stewart was 15 and Henderson was a year younger competing against one another in the Babe Ruth league. The latter had dreams of playing football, but he was talked out of playing that sport and concentrated on baseball. His mother, Bobbie, didn’t want to see him get hurt on the gridiron. On the baseball field, Henderson had the speed, Stewart remembered, but he was a work in progress.

 

“He was a really good football athlete at that time. His baseball skills were decent. When he was playing baseball at the time, you could see he was a raw, but very confident individual for as long as I’ve known him,” Stewart said.   “… Rickey in high school was physically more developed than most kids his age. So you could see where he was going and what he would be. The rest of it was just really mature? Will he put everything together and become a Major League player?”

 

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Henderson ended up becoming a Hall of Fame Player. He played in the show for 25 years and became the greatest leadoff hitter in history. He is the all-time leader in stolen bases [1,406], runs scored [2,295] and leadoff homers [81]. Let’s not forget that Henderson’s plate discipline was off the charts. He ended up with a .401 on-base percentage.

 

 

Peak Rickey Henderson: The 1980s and Early 90s

 

Henderson was at his peak in the 1980s and early ‘90s. From 1980-91, Henderson was a 10-time all-star and led the American League in stolen bases every year except for 1987. He won the American League Championship MVP in 1989 and the A.L. MVP a year later. Henderson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.

 

Stewart and Henderson accomplished a lot as teammates, winning the World Series title in 1989 and ‘93 with the A’s and Blue Jays, respectively. Stewart loved the fact that they were able to win it all in their hometown with Stewart winning the World Series MVP.

 

“The Oakland win was more to our hearts. We grew up in the bay – Oakland,” Stewart said. “We both grew up watching the Giants because the [Athletics were not around at first]. Who would have thought that we would be playing each other in the World Series. … It was more than baseball for us. It was love of the city and making our families proud.”

 

Dave Stewart Says Rickey Henderson Was A Great Family Man 

 

When he thinks about Henderson, the first thing that comes to Stewart’s mind is not baseball related; it’s the great family man he was off the field.

 

“The father that he was to his children. The husband that he was to his wife, Pamela. The son he was to mother, Bobbie. I had a chance to witness it firsthand – the kindness, the tenderness with his daughters,” Stewart said. “He respected Bobbie. He respected what she said. The things that she said meant something to him. He wanted to make sure that he pleased her. He was a tremendous father, husband and son.”

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