The former Ricky's Sports Bar has been renamed Rickey's Sports Lounge by new owner Ramonn Smith in San Leandro, Calif., on Thursday, May 11, 2023. The legendary bar that was home to the Raider Nation for decades has been reopened and a grand opening celebration is expected in June, Smith said.
There will be a celebration of the Bay Area’s past sports greatness on Wednesday when the Multi-ethnic Sports Hall of Fame resurfaces at one of the country’s great sports bars of yesteryear.
Former A’s and Giants outfielder Bill North, a two-time World Series champion with Oakland in the early ‘70s, will be the special guest from 6 p.m.-10 p.m. at the grand re-opening of Rickey’s Sports Lounge in San Leandro.
A number of other former East Bay greats are expected to be on hand at the former go-to place for Raiders fans, which had a soft re-opening in May ahead of its official restart coinciding with the beginning of the NFL season this week.
Dave Stewart, a four-time 20-game winner who led the A’s to their last World Series championship in 1989, headlines a list of former players in attendance that includes ex-baseball players Mike Norris, Bip Roberts, ex-Raiders Raymond Chester, Art Thoms and Mike Dotterer, former NFL players Sherman White and Jerry Robinson, as well as ex- Harlem Globetrotters legend Nate Branch.
Award-winning sports columnist/author Dave Newhouse and author Arif Khatib, the founder of the East Bay-based Multi-ethnic Sports Hall of Fame, will be part of a panel with North that discusses sports in Oakland, past and present. Newhouse, a former longtime writer for this organization, and former A’s executive Andy Dolich authored “Goodbye, Oakland,” a look at how the city landed on the verge of losing the Raiders, Warriors and the A’s. Khatib will also have updates on the next class of hall of famers.
For a charitable, tax-deductible donation, guests are welcome to attend the ceremonies at Rickey’s, located at 15028 Hesperian Blvd. in San Leandro. For $50, attendees will receive autographs and photo opportunities with the athletes in attendance along with a chance to win A’s and Giants tickets through a raffle. For $100, guests will also receive autographed copies of Newhouse and Dolich’s book as well as Khatib’s book, “Remember the Sacrifice,” a series of vignettes on unheralded athletes of color, some of which come from the Bay Area.
For more information as well as tickets for Wednesday night’s festivities, go to www.multiethnicsportshof.com, or call 510-629-3895.
Originally published at Jon Becker