Had there been no such thing as a 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 scene 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 1406 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 when he pushed the stolen base record to a level that may never be challenged. The game-worn home jersey is absolutely stunning in its presentation and boasts Wilson Size 42 tagging on the front tail and an embroidered adjacent flag tag with 82 denoting that historic season. As appears on the front in green and gold tackle twill the same scheme used for his No. 35 on the back; sleeves have green and gold elastic highlighting. The shirt is immaculate and problem-free showing good game use as might be expected from a player constantly in motion. There is some light fraying of the green piping surrounding the buttons light dirt and staining most notably on the back and minimal fraying of the green stitching on Henderson on the back.