PHOENIX — Former Oakland Athletics star Dave Stewart felt drained, his voice hoarse and eyes misty, as he reminisced about the past.

It all felt surreal.

It was true that Rickey Henderson, one of his closest friends beyond just baseball, wasn’t in great health. Henderson battled asthma and had ongoing sinus issues that led to surgery last year, often leaving him tired.

Yet, that was classic Rickey—always busy, never letting his health slow him down.

“When I learned he was unwell,” Stewart shared with YSL News Sports on Saturday, “it didn’t shock me. He just doesn’t know how to ease up. He pushes himself to be at 100% all the time.

“Even with asthma and health problems, nothing could keep him still. He was always out and about. He owned rental properties in Oakland, and people would call me saying they saw Rickey mowing the lawn. I’d be like, ‘Really?’ They told me he was actually out there, using his lawn mower to take care of his yard.

“He was non-stop. He loved fishing, and recently started hunting. On his first hunt, he went after wild boar. Not exactly the usual first hunt for anyone.”

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On Friday afternoon, Stewart called Henderson to remind him of their business call scheduled for Saturday. However, it was Henderson’s daughter, Alexis, who picked up. They were at an Oakland hospital, where Henderson was slated for surgery.

Later, Stewart received a call from Alexis informing him that her father had passed away.

He was gone at 65, just five days shy of his 66^th birthday on Christmas.

“I was in disbelief,” Stewart recalled. “I still can’t comprehend it. We’ve shared our lives for so many years.”

“He was my guy.”

They first crossed paths as young teens in Oakland, competing in the Babe Ruth League, which included future major and minor league stars like Rupert Jones, Glenn Burke, Gary Pettis, Lloyd Moseby, Tack Wilson, Cleo Smith, and of course, the great Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson, who would become the all-time leader in stolen bases and runs scored.

“Back then, he wasn’t that exceptional as a player,” Stewart reminisced. “He had potential and speed, but he’d probably agree that if asked to rank his skills in sports, it would be football first, then baseball, and then basketball. He had lessons to learn, as he aspired to excel as a running back.”

Henderson often claimed he could have mirrored Bo Jackson, the two-sport All-Star, but the Athletics were not keen on him playing in the NFL.

Both friends had their careers intertwined; Stewart was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1975, and the following year, Henderson was chosen by the Athletics. They faced off in winter leagues in Mexico and later in the minors, with Stewart pitching for Albuquerque, NM, and Henderson for Ogden, UT.

“Before I pitched against him one night, he joked that my friends had kept him out late partying,” Stewart said. “I struck him out the first two times, but then he came up a third time with a lighter bat and hit one out.”

This made Henderson chuckle even four decades later.

They eventually reunited as teammates with the Oakland Athletics in 1989 when Henderson was traded from the Yankees and Stewart was achieving his third consecutive 20-win season.

“It was a dream come true to watch someone with such extraordinary talent,” Stewart said. “He was one-of-a-kind. No one will ever match his skill.”

Together, they led the Athletics to a World Series championship in 1989 against the San Francisco Giants, an event forever marked by the destructive Loma Prieta earthquake that delayed the series by 10 days.

In the ALCS, Henderson hit .400 and stole eight bases, earning the MVP award when the A’s triumphed over the Toronto Blue Jays to reach the World Series.

During the World Series, Henderson batted .474, but Stewart was named MVP for going 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA in the four-game sweep.

“When I won the MVP,” Stewart chuckled, “Rickey teased me that the trophy should really be his. He claimed the only reason I got it was because of what I did during the earthquake; he said I got sympathy votes.”

Stewart laughed for nearly half a minute while sharing that tale.

That was Rickey.

In 2022, the Athletics honored Stewart by retiring his jersey, marking the first time they had done so since Henderson’s in 2009. Their numbers now proudly reside together in the upper deck, and they were also chosen to throw the ceremonial first pitch in the team’s last game at the Coliseum in September.

“I have always respected and admired Rollie [Fingers], Reggie [Jackson], and Catfish [Hunter], but having my number retired by the A’s, along with Rickey, was monumental for me,” Stewart reflected, “a truly significant moment.”

“I clearly remember the time I announced my retirement in 1995; Rickey didn’t speak to me for nearly two or three weeks. He kept insisting that I should retire only after he did. He hoped I would continue playing for as long as he remained in the game [which was until 2003].

“Thus, the true significance of my number being retired lies in the fact that Rickey and I were together at that moment—two youngsters from Oakland, sharing our retirement celebration with the organization we cherished.”

Now, just three months after the Athletics concluded their last game in Oakland, Rickey has also passed away.

“When Rickey died, news began to spread on social media [on Friday night],” Stewart shared. “The word got out, but the family requested that we refrain from making any public statements until they felt ready.”

“As I scrolled through posts on X, I saw various reactions, with many expressing disbelief about Rickey’s passing. One tweet encapsulated it perfectly:

“If anything happened to Rickey, he would say, ‘Rickey is gone’,” Stewart recounted, reading from his phone. “That’s how remarkable Rickey was.”

Stewart chuckled, adding: “Now that’s the absolute truth.”