Rest In Power: Notable Black Folks Who We’ve Lost In 2024

Source: San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers / Getty

UPDATED: 2:30 PM ET., December 21, 2024

As we’ve come to understand year after year, day after day even, death is unfortunately an inevitable part of life. Still, as much of a fact as that may be, the blow of experiencing loss never gets any easier, nor does reporting on the subject in Black culture.

Rickey Henderson, Baseball Hall of Famer and widely regarded as one of the greatest leadoff hitters and base stealers in Major League Baseball (MLB) history, passed away after a bout with pneumonia, days before his 66th Birthday. Known for his speed and on-base abilities, his career stats include a .279 batting average with 297 home runs and 1,115 runs batted in. Henderson holds the MLB records for career stolen bases, runs scored, unintentional walks, and leadoff home runs.

Henderson played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball, notably with the New York Yankees, Oakland A’s, and Toronto Blue Jays. Henderson won a World Series with both the A’s in 1993 and the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 1990. He would be traded to the Blue Jays in 1993, where he would win another World Series title.

In 1991, Henderson would proclaim he was the greatest of base stealer of all time after he broke one of baseball’s most storied records when he stole the 939th base of his career, surpassing St. Louis Cardinals legend Lou Brock’s record. Henderson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.

Rickey Henderson was 65 Years Old

Learn more below about who in our culture has passed away so far this year in 2024 Below