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OAKLAND -- Whether it was in the early days of his multisport prowess as a youth at Bushrod Park in North Oakland or later in his post-playing career, there is no shortage of Rickey Henderson stories.

During Saturday¡¯s public celebration of life for Henderson, who died on Dec. 20 at age 65, the Oakland Arena transformed into a forum for those who knew the ¡°Man of Steal¡± best to share some of their most memorable tales in front of Henderson's mother, Bobbie, his wife, Pamela, and his three daughters, Angela, Alexis and Adrianna.

• Stories abound at Rickey Henderson celebration of life

Here are a few memories shared from the two-hour ceremony:

Basketball Hall of Famer and East Oakland native Gary Payton

¡°To grow up in Oakland, California as an 8-year-old kid and watch a guy like Rickey Henderson in North Oakland at Oakland Tech, people don¡¯t really understand, he wasn¡¯t just a great baseball player. He could play football. He did track. And he tried to dabble in my area. He should have just left that to me. But he was great at all of them. For me to grow up watching him do the things that he did, he was a legend here in Oakland, Calif. I had the privilege to be here every day and watch him play for his hometown Oakland A¡¯s, and we¡¯d get to go sneak into the bleachers and watch him steal bases. ¡­ Me coming from Oakland, Calif., and being a basketball player and going to the Hall of Fame and all that stuff, it came from Rickey. It came from me looking at him do the things that he did and be successful. Remember, these people from Oakland, we¡¯re great. Rickey is Oakland.¡±

Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield

¡°The first time I met Rickey, I believe it was at an All-Star Game, and we kind of hit it off. I enjoyed the way he played. The next thing that happened, I brought my older brother, Steve, on the field to meet some of the guys. I brought him over and I said, 'Let me introduce you to this young blood Rickey Henderson.' They shook hands and gave each other a hug, and I told my brother, ¡®You know what? This brother here was tearing ¡®em up down in the Minor Leagues. Stealing bases, catching balls, doing everything.¡¯ And Rickey turned to my brother and said, ¡®I¡¯m gonna tear ¡®em up over here, too! Ain¡¯t no thang!¡¯ Obviously, he lived up to what he said he was going to do.¡±

¡°The next story -- it was a couple of years later and he was traded to the Yankees and I was there in ¡®85. ¡­ Rickey went through a really good week. He probably stole 10 or 12 bases and scored about 20 runs or something outlandish. So he¡¯s in the trainers' room before the game. We had a big series against Boston and he wasn¡¯t going to play that day. They were giving him a massage and he was stretching. Affectionately, I called him ¡®Rico.¡¯ I got that from Lou Piniella when I heard him call him that. I said, ¡®Rico, man. You gotta play today, man. We need you.¡¯ He said, ¡®Nah, man, I¡¯m a little tired. I¡¯m hurting a little bit.¡¯ I said, ¡®Rickey, man, you at 50 percent is better than 95 percent of these people out there. Come on. Let¡¯s go out there.¡¯ He gets up off the table, we play that day, he gets a couple of hits, scores a few runs, goes deep, picks up his shirt going around first base and is talking trash, and it was just a wonderful thing to see. ¡­ What I really enjoyed about Rickey is that every day he came to work full of joy, happiness, energy and positivity. New York wasn¡¯t always a comfortable or nice place to play. But when I would see him and we talked it up, it would brighten my day. ¡­ He was a friend, a brother and one of the best that ever played the game. I played against Willie Mays. I played against Hank Aaron. I played against Willie McCovey. And I will just say, Rickey carved out his own space in this game of baseball. He was just one of the best.¡±

Fred Atkins, Henderson¡¯s childhood friend

¡°You know when I really knew Rickey was a dawg? We were playing football in his driveway. ¡­ That day we played in his driveway and they had a parked car at the end. Rickey was going out for a pass. He was on the run and he caught it and hit the parked car, ¡®Wham!¡¯ like that. In my mind, I¡¯m like, ¡®Oh, we gotta go down the street to the Children's Hospital. I know he gotta go see a doctor.¡¯ So, he¡¯s like, ¡®Ah! Ah! My back!¡¯ We go inside and have a slice of Bobbie¡¯s great sweet potato pie and some milk. We sat down for a couple of minutes and then we start playing again. I went back out to check the car, and it had a dent in the side of the car where he hit it. I go, ¡®How did you do that?¡¯ That¡¯s when I said, ¡®This dude is a dawg.¡¯ He¡¯s in a kid body, but that¡¯s the man right there.¡±