OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Athletics will retire Dave Stewart’s No. 34 during the 2020 season. The club made the announcement today during their 1989 World Series Championship team reunion.

“Dave is one of the great legends in Oakland A’s history. He exemplifies what it means to be an Oakland A. He gave his heart and soul to this club and our Oakland community,” said Oakland A’s President Dave Kaval. “It seems fitting that Dave wore Rollie Fingers’ number - another legendary Athletics pitcher. We retired Rollie’s No. 34 in 1993 and we are proud to add Stew’s No. 34 to honor and celebrate his incredible contributions to our club.”

“I am so incredibly humbled. I don’t even have the words to express how honored I am to have my number retired with all the great players before me who are all Hall of Famers. Being the first non-Hall of Famer to have their number retired makes this honor even more incredible,” said Stewart. “I sincerely thank David Kaval, David Forst, and Billy Beane; I believe each of them know what this truly means to me. To have my number retired in my hometown, surrounded by people in and from my community, and hopefully for people to remember me as a permanent part of the Oakland A’s franchise ... all I can say is ‘WOW’ and thank you.”

Stewart’s famous “Death Stare” was nearly as merciless as his pitching. Born in Oakland and a graduate of St. Elizabeth High School, he spent six seasons in the Majors with three teams before breaking through with the A’s. He joined Oakland in 1986 and won 20 games in four consecutive seasons from 1987 to 1990. The big-game pitcher went 8-3 with a 2.22 ERA in 14 postseason starts, including two wins in the 1989 World Series when he earned MVP honors in the A’s sweep of the Giants.

Since 1996, the club has awarded the Dave Stewart Community Service Award, which is given annually to an A's player in recognition of charitable contributions throughout Northern California and across the nation. Throughout the years, Stewart has been involved in many nonprofit organizations, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland and Team-Up for Youth, a program that supports healthy development for young people living in low-income communities through after-school sports and physical activity programs.

Stewart was an All-Star in 1989 and is a member of the inaugural class of the Athletics Hall of Fame.