MLB’s Rickey Henderson (and the Catonsville Connection)
MLB’s Rickey Henderson died on December 20, 2024, at age 65. He is widely regarded as baseball's greatest leadoff hitter and baserunner. He holds MLB records for career stolen bases, single season stolen bases, runs, unintentional walks, and leadoff home runs. He had 3055 career hits. He played 25 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four separate tenures with his original team, the Oakland Athletics. In 2009, he was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Henderson 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 (in 1980, 1982, and 1983). His 1,406 career steals is 50% higher than the previous record of 938 by Lou Brock. Henderson is the all-time stolen base leader for the Oakland Athletics and previously held the New York Yankees' franchise record from 1988 to 2011. A 12-time stolen base champion, Henderson led the league in runs five times.
HERE'S THE CATONSVILLE CONNECTION:
In 1985, Rickey Henderson set the New Yankee’s single season steals record with 80 steals. Therecord he broke was made by Catonsville’s- own, Fritz Maisel, who established the prior NY Yankee record in 1914 with 74 steals, which lead the American league that year. His Yankee record stood for 71 years. Because of his steals, he was known as the “Catonsville Flash”. Frederick Charles & "Fritz" Maisel (December 23, 1889 – April 22, 1967) was born in Catonsville, Maryland. In 1910. He was signed by Jack Dunn of the Baltimore Orioles. He played third base in the Major Leagues from 1913 to 1918. In his Major League career, he played for the New York Yankees and St. Louis Browns. Because of his speed on the basepaths, he was known as "Catonsville Flash" or just "Flash" by his fans. In 1914, he led the American League with 74 stolen bases, and was only caught stealing 17 times that year, an 81 percent success rate.
After his major league career, he rejoined the Baltimore Orioles as team captain in 1919 and led the team to seven straight International League pennants. In 1929, after the death of Jack Dunn, Fritz became the manager of the Orioles and managed them from the 1929 through 1932 seasons. He was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame in 1959. At the time of his death (1967) he was a scout for the Baltimore Orioles (the Orioles have been a Major League Baseball team since 1954). Maisel was Chief of the Baltimore County Fire Department from 1938 to 1951. He was a lifelong resident of Catonsville.