COOPERSTOWN, New York – Jim Rice’s icy glare melted into a wide smile. Brash, flamboyant Rickey Henderson was humbled by it all.
COOPERSTOWN, New York – Jim Rice’s icy glare melted into a wide smile. Brash, flamboyant Rickey Henderson was humbled by it all.
The former left fielders were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday along with the late Joe Gordon, and Henderson, baseball’s all-time leading base stealer, was briefly overcome before evoking some hearty laughs.
“My journey as a player is complete,” Henderson said. “I am now in the class of the greatest players of all time, and at this moment, I am very humbled.”
Born in Chicago on Christmas Day 1958, Henderson moved with his family to California when he was 7 years old and became a three-sport star at Oakland Technical High School. Football was his forte and he received numerous scholarships. He was persuaded to turn them down for a shot at baseball.
“My dream was to play football for the Oakland Raiders,” Henderson said. “But my mother thought I would get hurt playing football, so she chose baseball for me. I guess moms do know best.”
Henderson led the AL in steals 12 times and holds the record for steals with 1,406, runs scored with 2,295, unintentional walks with 2,129 and homers leading off a game with 81.
He said he owed much of that to a trick played by his former Babe Ruth coach, Hank Thompson.
“He tricked me into playing by coming to pick me up with a glazed donut and a cup of hot chocolate,” said Henderson, who played for nine teams during his 25-year career. “That was the way he would get me up and out of bed.”
Henderson said a high school counselor who needed players for the baseball team provided even more spark.
“She would pay me a quarter every time I would get a hit, when I would score or stole a base,” he said. “After my first 10 games, I had 30 hits, 25 runs scored and 33 steals. Not bad money for a kid.”
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AP Photo/Mike Groll
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