James McLaren Henderson (1 May 1907 – 5 March 2009), better known as Mac Henderson was a

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

international rugby union player and then businessman, founding one of Edinburgh's most famous restaurants, Henderson's.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Henderson was born in 1907 in Elphinstone, near

Tranent Tranent is a town in East Lothian (formerly Haddingtonshire), in the south-east of Scotland. The town lies 6 miles from the boundary of Edinburgh, and 9.1 miles from the city centre. It lies beside the A1 road, the A1 runs through the parish ...

and attended

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

. On leaving school her played for Dunbar but he then moved to Edinburgh where he played for Edinburgh Academicals. A farmer by trade, Henderson also worked on New Zealand sheep stations. While in New Zealand he played

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

for the Hawkes Bay side Waipukarau. Before he could be selected to play for the provincial Hawkes Bay side, he unfortunately was moved to another sheep station. Henderson recalled: "An official said he would eat his hat if I wasn't selected for Hawke's Bay". On his return to Scotland, he again played for

Edinburgh Academicals The Edinburgh Academical Football Club, also known as Edinburgh Accies, is a rugby union club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club is currently a member of the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of Scottish club rugby. Its home ground is Raeburn Pl ...

. He also played

for Haddington.

Provincial career

He played for Edinburgh District in their inter-city match against Glasgow District on 3 December 1932. Edinburgh won the match 15 - 3.

International career

He was capped three times by Scotland, all in 1933. Scotland won all 3 matches and secured the Triple Crown. His career in rugby came to an abrupt end after he received a serious ligament injury while on a tour with the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

later that year.

Business career

Farming

Henderson had a farm in East Lothian. In 1962, Henderson and his wife opened a farm shop in Edinburgh as an outlet for their produce.

Restaurateur

In 1963, they opened a vegetarian restaurant, Henderson's in Hanover Street in the centre of Edinburgh, "which has long since established itself as an institution in the city."

Family

Henderson met Janet Millar, while playing

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

at a friend's home at

Gullane Gullane ( or ) is a town on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth in East Lothian on the east coast of Scotland. There has been a church in the village since the ninth century. The ruins of the Old Church of St. Andrew built in the twelft ...

. Millar was an architect's daughter and in 1932 the couple married in a society wedding in

Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O Ferrie ...

. His wife had been told she could not have children, but she believed that a healthy,

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

diet would make her fertile. The couple went on to have seven children; five sons named Andrew, John, Peter, Nicholas and Oliver; two daughters, Sara and Catherine. At his death Henderson had 14 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. His brother

Ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

was also an international rugby player.

Legacy

On the occasion of his 100th birthday in 2007, Scottish Rugby held a lunch in honour of Henderson at

Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium (known as BT Murrayfield Stadium for sponsorship reasons, or popularly as Murrayfield) is a Rugby stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has a seating capacity of 67,144 making it the largest sta ...

. He was the first of Scotland's international players to become a

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...

. He died on 5 March 2009 at the age of 101 as the longest-lived Test player in rugby union history.

References

External links

Hendersons Of Edinburgh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Mac 1907 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Businesspeople from Edinburgh Dunbar RFC players Edinburgh Academicals rugby union players Edinburgh District (rugby union) players Haddington RFC players British men centenarians People educated at Edinburgh Academy Rugby union players from East Lothian Scotland international rugby union players Scottish centenarians Scottish restaurateurs Scottish rugby union players Rugby union number eights Barbarian F.C. players