Former Murphy coach Larry Henderson, center, received a lifetime achievement award Saturday in Montgomery from Alabama Football Coaches Association Executive Director Jack Wood, left, and ALFCA President and UMS-Wright coach Terry Curtis, right, who served on Henderson’s Murphy staff when the Panthers won the 1983 Class 4A state title. (Jimmy Wigfield/Call News)
Former Murphy coach Larry Henderson, center, receives a standing ovation Saturday as he walks up to accept a lifetime achievement award from the Alabama Football Coaches Association Saturday in Montgomery. (Jimmy Wigfield/Call News)
By JIMMY WIGFIELD
MONTGOMERY — Larry Henderson doesn’t like talking about himself but on Saturday, the words of praise from the Alabama Football Coaches Association and the lifetime achievement award it bestowed on the former Murphy coach said it all for him.
Henderson, 85, who led the Panthers to their only state championship in 1983, received a standing ovation from the packed ballroom when he was honored at the conclusion of the annual ALFCA convention at the Embassy Hotel.
“It’s always nice to be recognized,” Henderson said in the quiet, humble manner typical of the times he is asked to speak about himself, “but you always have to remember, this is not what I did. This is what a lot of good people did that supported me and worked with me. The players, the assistant coaches, our school administration was supportive and great to work with and work for and that’s what it’s about. It was a top-to-bottom deal. It wasn’t just one person, it was a lot of people.”
A year after Henderson’s first year in charge resulted in a 3-7 finish — the school’s first losing season in 16 years — Murphy went 14-0 in 1983 and defeated Austin 7-0 in an epic rainsquall at Legion Field to win the Blue Map. The victory represented a breakthrough for Mobile teams, which had never won a state championship since the playoff system was started. Since then, 25 Mobile-area teams have won one.
“His legacy will always be winning that first championship,” former Murphy and Alabama star offensive lineman Bill Condon said. “It paved the way for the other Mobile schools.”
Henderson was 83-41 in 11 years with the Panthers and appeared in three state championship games.
Henderson was joined at Saturday’s ceremony by his family and former assistant coaches Ronnie Roberts and Terry Curtis, who is now the head coach at UMS-Wright.
Henderson said the recognition has drawn many of his former teammates and players to reach out to him.
“I did hear from a lot of people that I’ve not been able to keep up with and just made contact with, either through Facebook or other means,” he said. “That was a great part of it because those people meant so much to me at one time in my life. We’ve gotten separated and to hear from them again was really heartfelt.”
Henderson, a native of Forest, Miss., was working in the corporate world before going to lunch one August day and read a newspaper story about E.D. White High Catholic School in Thibodeaux, La., needing an assistant coach. He went by the school, interviewed and was offered the job.
Henderson was an All-State and All-American lineman at East Central Junior College, then a defensive star at Delta State. After serving as a student assistant, Henderson began his coaching career in earnest at E.D. White. His first head coach’s job was at Decatur (Miss.) for two years before becoming an assistant coach at Murphy under Hall of Fame coaches Lefty Anderson and Bob Shaw.
