Rickey Henderson has the most stolen bases in MLB history with a whopping 1406 steals. Second place belongs to St. Louis Cardinals great Lou Brock, who retired in 1979 with a then-record 938 stolen bases.
As you can see from the list of the top 20 base stealers of all time below, Henderson is head and shoulders above all other speedsters in major league history:
| Player | Stolen Bases |
| Rickey Henderson | 1406 |
| Lou Brock | 938 |
| Billy Hamilton | 914 |
| Ty Cobb | 897 |
| Tim Raines | 808 |
| Vince Coleman | 752 |
| Arlie Latham | 742 |
| Eddie Collins | 741 |
| Max Carey | 738 |
| Honus Wagner | 723 |
| Joe Morgan | 689 |
| Willie Wilson | 668 |
| Tom Brown | 658 |
| Bert Campaneris | 649 |
| Kenny Lofton | 622 |
| Otis Nixon | 620 |
| George Davis | 619 |
| Juan Pierre | 614 |
| Billy Hoy | 596 |
| Maury Wills | 586 |
Wills is noteworthy for his amazing performance in 1962, when he stole 104 bases for the Los Angeles Dodgers and won the National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for his efforts. That SB mark eclipsed Cobb’s record of 96 steals, set in 1915.
A dozen years after Wills’ record-setting performance, Brock set a new single-season mark with 118 steals in 1974. Three years later, Brock broke Cobb’s modern-day career record.
Brock’s records were short-lived, with Henderson swiping 130 bases in 1982 to grab the single-season crown. Less than nine years later, on May 1, 1991, Henderson set the career mark with his 939th stolen base. He would go on to play another 12+ seasons, last appearing in the majors in 2003.
Along the way, Henderson tagged on another 467 stolen bases — a number that on its own would be 48th on the all-time list of steals!
