The man who helped Rickey Henderson learn how to steal bases just 'didn't want to limit him'

When Henderson went into the Hall of Fame, he made sure to thank Tom Trebelhorn

The first time I saw Rickey Henderson play was in 1976, when he was 17 years old and a fourth-round draft pick out of Oakland Technical High School in Oakland. He signed his contract and was sent to Boise of the Northwest League, which was managed at that time by former Cleveland High and Portland State catcher Tom Trebelhorn, who later was a big-league manager with Milwaukee and the Chicago Cubs.

At the tender age of 17, Henderson hit .336 and stole 29 bases in 46 games.

“He was amazing,” Trebelhorn said Monday from his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. “He had all the tools, even at that age. A great body, he was fast — all the physical tools, except his arm was a little short (in baseball lingo, that isn’t about the length of his arm, but an assessment of how well he threw).

“We didn’t do vision tests in those days but he had great vision.”

Henderson passed away during the weekend at the age of 65 after a distinguished career in the major leagues that landed him in baseball’s Hall of Fame and endsd with him becoming the sport’s all-time leader in stolen bases.