A's To Retire Rickey Henderson's 24

[Kadie]

A's To Retire Rickey Henderson's 24

POSTED: 4:48 pm PDT July 9, 2009

Oakland, CA -- (Sports Network) - The Oakland Athletics will retire Rickey Henderson's No.24 jersey in a pre-game ceremony on August 1, the team announced Thursday.

Henderson was elected to the Hall of Fame in January and will be enshrined at Cooperstown on July 26. The following weekend, he will become the fifth Oakland player to have his number retired, following pitchers Jim "Catfish" Hunter (No. 27), Rollie Fingers (34) and Dennis Eckersley (43), and outfielder Reggie Jackson (9).

"This is a dream come true," said Henderson. "When I was a kid growing up in Oakland, I could never have imagined this happening. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank the Oakland Athletics organization for retiring my number 24. I would like to thank Jackie Robinson for opening the gates and allowing me to be to play the game of baseball. I would like to thank my family, friends and fans for their loyal support over all these years. This honor is for them, as well."

Henderson had four stints with the A's, spanning 14 years, during his 25- season career. He made his major league debut with Oakland in 1979 after being selected in the fourth round of the 1976 draft, and enjoyed milestone moments with the A's.

more...
http://www.kcra.com/sports/20009016/detail.html

[Auggie]

1. Tremendous achievement. Great ballplayer.

And so fun to watch in Oakland during the Billy Martin years.

[cherokeeprogressive]

2. He WAS "The Greatest of all Time", after all. I heard him say it.

"...I am the greatest of all-time..."