<P> Brock held the all - time career stolen bases before being surpassed by Henderson in 1991 . Brock had held the record from 1977 to 1991 . Before Brock , Hamilton held the record for eighty - one years , from 1897 to 1977 . Before that , Latham held the record from 1887 to 1896 . Latham was also the first player to collect 300 career stolen bases . With Kenny Lofton 's retirement in 2007 , 2008 was the first season since 1967 in which no active player had more than 500 career stolen bases . Between 2008 and 2010 , no active player had more than 500 stolen bases until Juan Pierre collected his 500th stolen base on August 5 , 2010 . He was the leader in stolen bases for active players until his retirement at the end of the 2013 season . José Reyes is the current active leader in stolen bases with 512 career . </P>
<P> Brock held the all - time career stolen bases before being surpassed by Henderson in 1991 . Brock had held the record from 1977 to 1991 . Before Brock , Hamilton held the record for eighty - one years , from 1897 to 1977 . Before that , Latham held the record from 1887 to 1896 . Latham was also the first player to collect 300 career stolen bases . With Kenny Lofton 's retirement in 2007 , 2008 was the first season since 1967 in which no active player had more than 500 career stolen bases . Between 2008 and 2010 , no active player had more than 500 stolen bases until Juan Pierre collected his 500th stolen base on August 5 , 2010 . He was the leader in stolen bases for active players until his retirement at the end of the 2013 season . José Reyes is the current active leader in stolen bases with 512 career . </P>
who has the most stolen bases in major league baseball history
who has the most stolen bases in major league baseball history
José Reyes
José Reyes