William Henderson (5 January 1900 – January 1934) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. He was born in Whitburn, County Durham. Billy Henderson, a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, began his career with his local side Whitburn from whom he joined

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. He moved to Aberdare Athletic and played 19 league games in Aberdare's first ever season in the Football League (1921–22). He left Aberdare mid-way during the season, in January 1922, to join

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

in a £650 transfer and was part of the West Ham team that won promotion to the First Division. He also appeared in the famous White Horse Final, the first

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

final to be held at the brand new

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

, during the 1922-23 season. He was an ever-present for the Hammers during the 1923-24 season. He retired because of ill health after the 1928–29 season, having played 183 times and scored one goal, the goal being scored in the FA Cup against his old club Aberdare in 1924. Henderson was only 34 years old when he died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

References

1900 births 1934 deaths People from Whitburn, Tyne and Wear Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of South Tyneside Footballers from Tyne and Wear English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Aberdare Athletic F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis English Football League players Tuberculosis deaths in England {{England-footy-defender-1900s-stub