16 Facts About Cam Henderson

Eli Camden Henderson was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach and college athletics administrator.

Cam Henderson was born in 1890 in the small town of Joetown in Marion County, West Virginia.

Cam Henderson began coaching at Shinnston High School in rural West Virginia, then moved to Bristol, West Virginia, where no gymnasium existed on his arrival.

Cam Henderson managed to have a gym constructed there, but poorly-cured wood and a leaky roof resulted in a slippery floor.

Cam Henderson began to distribute his defenders in "zones" to avoid the slick spots.

Cam Henderson then developed an offense of "breaking fast" off a missed basketball, with two forwards tearing down each sideline and a point guard bringing the ball up the court quickly for a number of options.

Cam Henderson was hired as athletic director and head coach for basketball and football.

Cam Henderson sent the Thundering Herd to the 1948 Tangerine Bowl and he produced College Football Hall of Fame running back Jackie Hunt, who set the national scoring mark with 27 touchdowns in 1940.

Cam Henderson sent numerous players to the professional ranks, including Frank "Gunner" Gatski, who is the first of the Herd's two members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Cam Henderson recruited the first African-American to play at the formerly all-white colleges of West Virginia when he signed Hal Greer from Huntington in 1954.

Cam Henderson's teams won as many as 32 games and they won 20 or more games eight times.

Cam Henderson produced the first-ever first round draft pick for the NBA, Andy Tonkovich, and produced All-Americans like Walt Walowac.

Cam Henderson would remain at Marshall as head basketball coach until 1955.

Cam Henderson's failing health from diabetes forced him to step down after the season and he would die that summer.

Cam Henderson died on May 3,1956, while visiting his daughter in Richmond, Kentucky.

Cam Henderson had suffered a heart attack several months before in Huntington and spent several weeks recovering in a hospital there.