For nearly a quarter century in Major League Baseball, Rickey Henderson delighted fans, bewildered sportswriters and generally rewrote the book on what it meant to be a leadoff hitter. Arriving near the dawn of the fantasy sports infatuation with statistics and a wide revamping of strategic thinking in major league front offices, Henderson shared his extraordinary talents with nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four stints with his original team, the Oakland Athletics. Nicknamed "The Man of Steal", he is widely regarded as the sport's greatest leadoff hitter and base runner. He holds the major league records for career stolen bases, runs scored, unintentional walks and leadoff home runs and a whole lot more. At the time of his last major league game in 2003, the 10-time American League All-Star ranked among the sport's top 100 all-time home run hitters and was its all-time leader in base on balls. In 2009, he was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot appearance. Henderson also holds the single-season record for stolen bases (130 in 1982) and is the only player in AL history to steal 100 bases in a season, having done so three times. His 1,406 career steals is 50 percent higher than the previous record of 938 by Lou Brock.
With that august resume comes this handsome game-worn home jersey from his 1997 campaign in San Diego towards the end of his career. The Russell Size 44 label with a fabric content flap tag resides in the lower left front tail,with Padres across the front in navy blue, white and orange tackle twill, the same configuration for his No. 24 on the back. His name appears on back in navy blue tackle twill. Each sleeve is decorated with a patch: the left with the familiar Padres’ disc patch and the right with the rare Jackie Robinson “Breaking Barriers” 50th anniversary patch. The jersey shows game use and is in simply outstanding overall condition, with no alterations of any kind.
Includes a Letter of Provenance from The Newport Sports Museum.