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Death

MLB Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson Dead at 65, Cause of Death Revealed

CultureCelebs
By Craig Garrett
December 21, 2024 | 2:04 p.m. CST
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Image via Instagram / Dave Winfield

Baseball Hall of Famer and MLB‘s all-time stolen base leader, Rickey Henderson, has died at the age of 65. He passed away in the Oakland area on Friday following a battle with pneumonia, according to TMZ.

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Henderson’s 66th birthday would have been this Christmas Day.

Hall of Famer and former teammate Dave Winfield shared the heartbreaking news on Saturday through his Instagram account. “I still cannot believe I’ve lost one of my favorite teammates and great friend Rickey Henderson. Rest in peace,” Winfield wrote.

Per KCBS Radio, Henderson, a 10-time All-Star and the 1990 American League MVP, is considered one of the best base stealers in baseball history. He holds the Major League record with 1,406 stolen bases, a number that still hasn’t been surpassed. His prolific base stealing abilities earned him the moniker the “Man of Steal.”

He also leads MLB in runs scored, with an incredible 2,295 in his career.

Rickey Henderson Played for Nine Different MLB Teams

Over an impressive 25-year career, he played for nine different teams, spending the majority of his time with the Oakland A’s, where he logged 14 seasons across multiple stints. He also spent a combined seven years in New York, including five with the Yankees (1985-1989) and two with the Mets (1999-2000).

Henderson, born in Chicago in 1958, grew up in Oakland, where he spent most of his childhood. At the age of 18, in 1976, he began his professional baseball journey by signing with the Oakland Athletics.

Over his remarkable 25-year Hall of Fame career, Henderson played for nine different teams and secured two World Series titles—one with Oakland in 1989 and another with Toronto in 1993.

He earned his place among baseball’s greatest legends in 2009 when he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Of course, Henderson was a longtime fan favorite across several MLB teams. Baseball fans flooded social media with tributes.

One especially touching post included Henderson’s final on-field moment with the Oakland A’s. In the footage, Henderson catches the ceremonial first pitch from his daughter.