OAKLAND -- The A’s remain hopeful in getting a new waterfront ballpark built near downtown Oakland in the next few years after navigating through current roadblocks in finalizing the project due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The eventual move out of the Oakland Coliseum figures to be an emotional one, even if it is one that is long overdue. After all, the Coliseum is where the A’s have resided since their relocation from Kansas City in 1968.

Over the span of those five decades, the A’s have gone through different eras of dominance. From the Swingin’ A’s dynasty of the '70s that captured three straight World Series titles to the powerful clubs led by the Bash Brothers in the '80s that reached three straight Fall Classics, and from The Big Three terrorizing opposing hitters in the early 2000s to the current A’s that have reached the postseason in each of the past three seasons, all of this has taken place in the same home ballpark.

The list of legends who have donned the green and gold just in the club’s existence in Oakland alone is a lengthy one. Many of those are recognized throughout the stadium. The five players to have their number retired by the club -- Rickey Henderson, Dennis Eckersley, Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers -- all have their number displayed atop Mount Davis, the Coliseum’s highest point. In 2017, the A’s renamed the playing surface at the Coliseum as “Rickey Henderson Field” in honor of the Hall of Famer and one of Oakland’s favorite sons.

• Athletics' all-time retired numbers

Many of the new ballparks around the league honor their greatest players and moments in the form of statues. Renderings of the proposed new ballpark in Oakland already feature a statue beyond the scoreboard in center field of Henderson in a runner’s pose, so it’s clear the A’s plan to pay homage to their legends.

Whenever the new stadium is ready, here are some candidates to be immortalized with a statue.

Rickey becomes the stolen base king
May 1, 1991, produced one of the most iconic moments in A’s history, as Henderson surpassed Lou Brock as baseball’s most prolific base stealer with his 939th stolen base in a game against the Yankees at the Coliseum. To celebrate the accomplishment, the game was halted for a few moments to honor Henderson, who was soon joined on the field by his mother, Bobbie. Henderson was given a microphone and thanked the numerous figures in the A’s organization who helped him in his career. The speech, which is often still replayed at the Coliseum during A’s home games, ended with his famous words: “Today, I am the greatest of all time. Thank you.” The lasting image from this day is Henderson grabbing the third-base bag he stole for the record-breaking feat from the ground and lifting it over his head in elation as he acknowledged a raucous Oakland crowd.

Dallas Braden’s perfect game
Injuries led to a shortened career for Braden, but he’s forever a part of Oakland history for his magical moment on Mother’s Day 2010 at the Coliseum, when he tossed a perfect game against the Rays. From the embrace with catcher Landon Powell on the mound after recording the final out to Braden lifting his grandmother, Peggy Lindsey, in the air with a giant hug near the A’s dugout, the emotions felt inside the Coliseum have rarely ever been matched in the history of the A’s time in Oakland. Braden now continues to work for the A’s as a television analyst, and this would be a nice homage to the left-hander.

Dennis Eckersley
Eck’s signature celebration after recording a save was to go down on one knee while throwing his fist in the air like an uppercut, and it’s one of the lasting images from the A’s last World Series title in 1989, when he closed out Game 4 in San Francisco for a sweep of the Giants. Eckersley already has had a gate named after him at the Coliseum, so why not give the Hall of Famer his own statue?

Walter A. Haas Jr.
In the late 1970s, then-A’s owner Charlie Finley was reportedly nearing a deal to move the team to Denver. In came Haas Jr., who purchased the A’s from Finley in 1980 and ensured that they would stay in Oakland. Haas Jr. owned the club for 15 years and saw the club win three AL pennants and a World Series title in 1989. Already enshrined as a member of the Oakland A’s Hall of Fame, Haas Jr. should have a tribute somewhere in the new stadium.

Dave Kaval
The A’s team president has been spearheading the effort to get the A’s a new stadium near Oakland’s Howard Terminal. If he’s able to finish the deal, ending a long stadium quest that has spanned nearly two decades, Kaval is as deserving as anyone in the A’s organization to be honored in the new park.