A's Announce 2026 Hall of Fame Class

This year's Hall of Fame class spans generations and a few different eras of A's baseball

Aug 28, 2022; Oakland, California, USA; Former Oakland Athletics player Mark Ellis waves to fans before the start of the 20th-anniversary celebration for the Athletics team that won 20 consecutive games in 2002 at RingCentral Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The Athletics Hall of Fame class for 2026 has been announced, and there are some great memories associated with this year's list. The A's announced today that center fielder Dave Henderson, second baseman Mark Ellis, pitcher John “Blue Moon” Odom and executive Sandy Alderson will be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday Sept. 12 prior to the A’s 6:40 game against Seattle.

Alderson loves to say that one of his hobbies is trading Rickey Henderson, since he did so twice. This was a line he delivered at Henderson's Celebration of Life in 2025, and has also made the rounds in previous speaking gigs.

When Billy Beane was also set to take over as the A's GM with Alderson's departure, he made sure that he was the one that traded away Mark McGwire—a move the team felt had to happen—so that Beane could start with a clean slate and not have that trade be his introduction to the fans.

Dave Henderson manned center for the A's from 1988-93 and helped the club to four postseason appearances during his six seasons as an Athletic. Hendu had career-highs in batting (.304) and RBI (94) in his first season in 1988, and slugged a career-high 25 home runs in 1991 when he was named to the American League All-Star team.

He hit two home runs and had four RBI in Game 3 of the 1989 World Series against San Francisco and batted .308 in the A’s four-game sweep of the Giants. He was a fan favorite in his time in the Green and Gold, with the fans in the bleachers hoisting signs that said Henduland and Hendu’s Bad Boy Club. Henderson passed away in 2015 and will be represented by his widow, Nancy, and son, Trent.

Mark Ellis is arguably the most underrated player in A's history. His defense was superb before analytics became as widespread as they are now, and he was a steady bat in the lineup during his nine seasons with the club. He remains the Athletics career leader for home runs by a second baseman with 84.

John "Blue Moon" Odom played for both the Kansas City and Oakland A’s and was 80-76 with a 3.53 ERA in 269 games, including 214 starts, in 12 seasons with the Athletics from 1964-75. He played on the A’s three straight World Series Championship teams from 1972-74 and logged a 3-1 record and a 1.13 ERA in 10 career postseason appearances, including four starts.

This is a terrific class that has something for all types of A's fans.

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