From the archives: How Oakland A's legend Rickey Henderson was molded by Billy Ball'

"On June 24, 1979, Henderson debuted with the A's on a quiet Sunday afternoon, and only 4,752 fans were there to see the A's fall to 22-52 by losing both ends of a doubleheader to the Texas Rangers. The 20-year-old playing left field that day stole his first base — the catcher was Jim Sundberg — and went 2-for-8."

"Maybe because it's impossible to talk about Rickey without mentioning Billy. Maybe because when you recall the perfect player for Billy's style of ball, you think of Rickey. Henderson played 89 games that first summer, stole 33 bases and hit .274."

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