Rickey Henderson 1958-2024
Just four days before his 66 birthday the baseball and collecting world were shocked and saddened by the news of Hall of Famer and all time stolen base king Rickey Henderson’s untimely passing after a brief illness. Born in Chicago but raised in Oakland, California he became a local hero and national star for his hometown A's. During his twenty year plus MLB career, he had numerous accomplishments including 10 all star appearances, an MVP award in 1990, multiple silver slugger awards, and two World Series Championships. Over his playing career Henderson has been part of countless hobby products but I wanted to talk about one of my all time favorite Ricky Henderson collectables, specifically his Starting Lineup from the 1992 series.
If you were a 90s kid like me who was into sports, Starting Lineups figurine toys were most likely a big part of your collection. For those unaware, Starting Lineups were action figures of popular athletes across all major sports. Initially conceived by punter Pat McInally and produced by Kenner and then Hasbro Toys, Starting Lineups exploded in popularity by the late 80s and early 90s. Rickey Henderson made several appearances in Starting Lineup sets including its original 1988 release however, his most iconic figure to me was the 1992 release. What makes this figure so special in my opinion is that they capture Henderson sliding headfirst into second base. This was unique as other Henderson figures in previous lines had him batting or sliding feet first. Henderson famously became a headfirst slider after experiencing what he described as “strawberries on his knees and ass” from sliding feet first. He also felt that sliding headfirst low to the ground help him protect his legs. While this figure doesn’t have a high intrinsic value (buyers on ebay are asking for $15-20 which may go up with news of his passing) the sentimental value will be extremely high to his fans. It captures the essence of what made him unique as a baseball player doing what he did best.
Rickey Henderson leaves behind a tremendous legacy. As baseball has evolved the likelihood of anyone matching his stolen base record seem slim. While that’s what he’s most known for, Henderson was a much more complete player, leading the league in OBP during his MVP campaign in 1990. One of his most astounding stats was that he was unintentionally walked over 700 times to lead off an inning, the one thing opposing pitchers were loath to do. He also hit for power during his career having multiple twenty five plus home run seasons from the leadoff spot. Lately he had been a fixture at autograph signings throughout the country and from what I’ve heard he was always very friendly and accessible to his many fans.
Myself and everyone at Si Collectibles would like to express our condolences to Rickey Henderson’s family, friends and countless fans who were inspired by him and his incredibly baseball career.
