Billy Henderson (coach)

Billy Henderson (born June 2, 1928) is a former American football player and coach. Henderson has coached for Furman University, the University of South Carolina, and four high schools. Henderson is a native of Georgia, graduated from high school in Macon, and is an alumnus of the University of Georgia (UGA). At UGA, Henderson was on the football and baseball teams.

Henderson is the youngest of 4 children of the late Holly Bradford Henderson and Mina Jewell Henderson. His father died when Henderson was 8 years old. This left his mother a widow who had to do everything on her own. She did not have any money, but she never let her children know that. “We thought we were wealthy and had everything we needed,” said Henderson. Coach Henderson had a strong passion for baseball. He and his buddies would walk three miles down from his house to watch minor league baseball games. Because he did not have the money to get in the game, he had to wait until a ball was hit over the fence, race to get it, return the ball, and then get free admission. “That’s where I learned to run fast,” said Henderson.

Henderson’s athletic ability was discovered on the dusty sand lots of Macon, Georgia. During his high school athletic career, he was twice named All-American player for both football and baseball. In his entire four years of high school, he earned fourteen letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track. Henderson was drafted by the Chicago Cubs after his senior year of high school, but he chose to sign a football scholarship with the Georgia Bulldogs. There he was an All-SEC performer.

Henderson received his first head coaching job at Willingham High School in Macon as an athletic director and coach of varsity baseball and football. His first season there, he was building the program and went winless in football. Henderson was determined to better the program and came up with something called McWill Night. These nights were intended to promote fitness in the community. This program was open to any athlete that wanted to better him or herself, not just his or her players. He recruited people like Gov. Jimmy Carter, Lester Maddox, Carl Sanders, and Vince Dooley to ensure his program would be successful. The event was held in the Macon Coliseum and consisted of more than 2,000 participants and 6,350 spectators. Billy drew national coverage from the Sunday newspaper in Macon. Coach Henderson also started a gymnastics team, became the head of summer recreation programs, and volunteered for programs such as Big Brothers, Boy Scouts, and the YMCA.

...
Wikipedia