BY MIKE STEVENS
The first time I realized fishing stood as “the great equalizer,” I was working in a sporting goods store in the late ‘90s. One of my co-workers was a part-time (trying to be full time) cop, so he worked on the gun side of the store to help make ends meet and score the employee discount.
One day came over to chat with me on the fishing side, and mid-chat I noticed that he stopped paying attention to what I was saying and looking right past me with a little smirk on his face. I looked back and saw a big bald dude with tattoos all over his head and some on his face including the tear-drop tattoos under his eyes that are usually indicative of…things.
“Why are you staring at that guy?”
“Last year I arrested him for attempted murder.”
“Woah. He’s not heading for the gun side is he?” I asked, half joking.
“No. It looks like he’s just getting some nightcrawlers”
Then a light went off in my 22-year-old head, and after a long pause I said, “well, he likely won’t be getting into any trouble today.”
That guy became a regular customer, and he’d ask questions about fishing and hang on my every word even though I was just giving him really basic info. Two guys who might not even give each other a head nod on the street let alone hang out, but when the subject was fishing, common ground was found. Just a couple of dudes.
Last week, arguably the best leadoff hitter in baseball history, Rickey Henderson, passed away. Since my arrival at WON a decade ago, I learned that he was a serious saltwater angler.
My first clue came when he was made his way into WON’s long-running Whoppers of the Week graphic. I saw “Rickey Henderson” out of the Bay Area with a big halibut and figured it could be possible. For one, I knew he spelled his name with the “e” in “Rickey” which is not super common. And he was also a long time (multi-time, in fact) member of the Oakland A’s, so it really would make sense.
I shot a note to WON’s NorCal Editor, Dave Hurley asking if that Rickey was the Rickey, and he said it was, and that he was a regular on the California Dawn II.
The Cal Dawn II…a party boat. Rickey didn’t go out in his own boat or even on 6-pack charters. Rickey fished with the people, providing yet another example of fishing serving as the great equalizer.
Once Hurley knew Rickey was on my radar, he made a point to send photos of the hall of famer with big halibut and everything else the local waters had to offer. I recently asked Hurley — a lifetime Oakland A’s fan— why he hasn’t interviewed him yet for WON. Hurley liked the idea, but our window closed when Henderson passed away due to pneumonia at 65 years of age on December 20, five days before his Christmas birthday.
That morning, I saw the chatter on X (formerly Twitter), but saw nothing from a reputable source to confirm it. I texted Hurley who was trying to confirm it himself, and he was able to (before national media) when he reached out to Justin Smith of the California Dawn II, the boat’s captain and “a good friend of Rickey.”
Among Henderson’s baseball accomplishments is standing as the all-time leader in stolen bases (1,406) which will just never be beat. He also crossed home plate more than any other player, 2,295 times, which is also likely untouchable. There are 128 retired players behind him before you get to the first active player on the list, Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers with 1,298 career runs scored.
That’s right, the next guy who can possibly catch him in the runs department is almost 1,000 runs behind him.
After baseball, among other things no doubt, “The Man of Steal” was a party boat angler and a regular on the California Dawn II. This after a staggering 25 years in the spotlight as a Major League Baseball player. Anyone could spend a day on that vessel, look down the rail and see one of the greatest baseball players of all time getting slime on his hands and blood on his shirt in hopes of bagging his next big flatty, just like they were doing.
An immortal on the diamond, but an equal on the water.
