Had it not been for Rickey Henderson as Major League Baseball moved into the giddy decades of the 1980's and 1990's, somebody would have had to invent him. He was perfect for the times, a man capable of things on the diamond that had never been contemplated, truly a revolutionary figure in the most precise sense of the word. As MLB entered an age of free agency and an almost mind-boggling reliance and utilization of statistics, Henderson rewrote the book on both, playing for nine different teams in a quarter-century of big-league baseball, all the while becoming the poster boy for a fantasy baseball craze that would sweep the national and dramatically alter the way fans - and even MLB executives - looked at statistics both old and new. That would be a lot for any Hall of Famer, much less "The Man of Steal," who is widely regarded as the sport's greatest leadoff hitter and baserunner. He holds the major league records for career stolen bases, runs scored, unintentional walks and leadoff home runs. 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 roughly 50 percent higher than the man he supplanted, 938 by fellow Hall of Famer Lou Brock. Henderson was named the AL's Most Valuable Player in 1990, and he was the leadoff hitter for two World Series champions: the 1989 Oakland A's and the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays. A 12-time stolen base champion, Henderson led the league in runs five times.
This pristine Oakland A's home jersey traces its lineage to that historic season in 1982. The game-issued alternate shirt is absolutely stunning in its presentation and boasts Rawlings Size 42 tagging on the inside of the front tail. Rickey, as he would often refer to himself, has signed the elegant jersey twice: on the front in fine-point marker and on his number on the back in silver Sharpie, adding the "1982" inscription. As noted, the shirt is immaculate and largely as-issued and problem-free, nudged only by the faintest discolored circle (smaller than a dime) on the "A" on the shirt's front, pretty clearly caused by a tiny authentication hologram that has fallen off over the years.
The jersey comes with a COA from Man of Steal Sports, Henderson's memorabilia company run by his longtime personal memorabilia manager, Mike Weiss. Although the COA states the jersey was used during the 1982 season, it is the opinion of SCP Auctions that this jersey was game-issued in 1982 but not worn in an actual MLB game that year. The jersey is part of Bill Albert's Rickey Henderson collection. Albert worked as a staff photographer for the San Jose Giants minor league baseball club (Giants single A affiliate) and did freelance photography for the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's developing relationships with many Bay Area professional athletes. He acquired most, if not all, of his Rickey items through Mike Weiss and Man of Steal Sports.
Pre-certified by PSA/DNA.