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Director of Development for Athletics
USF Alumnus of the Year, 2005
Member of USF Football Team, 1951
Alpha Sigma Nu, National Jesuit Society
Bill Henneberry was born on June 6, 1930, in San Francisco and attended Sacred Heart High School, where he was Senior Class President. He played basketball and also was a blocking back on the football team.
When USF Football Coach Joe Kuharich offered him a scholarship and a place on the freshman football team, he accepted. He played as a linebacker and as a quarterback, and was teammates with Ed Brown, Ollie Matson, and Burl Toler. In a 1951 game against the Pendleton Marines, he led the Dons to a 26-0 victory, with a series of short passes, and an 80-yard touchdown pass to Frank McLaughlin. In addition to football, Henneberry was Student Body President, Block Club President, and a member of the Marketing Club. He said to SFGate: “Coach Kuharich saw something in this kid from Sacred Heart.”
Under head coach Joe Kuharich, the Dons went undefeated at 9-0-0 in the 1951 season. With two African-American players on the team, Toler and Ollie Matson, they were not invited to any post-season bowl games. Apparently, the owner of the Gator Bowl, Sam Wolfson, had made an agreement with the Orange and Sugar Bowls to omit teams with black players. When the Orange Bowl extended an invitation to them, on the condition that the two African-American players be excluded, the team unanimously declined, and from then on, they were called the “undefeated, untied, and uninvited.” Although the Dons had been denied a bowl berth, the entire team was recognized at the 2008 Fiesta Bowl, at long last making an appearance in a bowl game. “No one ever regretted it,” Henneberry said to Boston NPR, “we were really like a family.”
Unfortunately, without post-season funding, USF was forced to shut down its football program the following year. Attendance at the Kezar games had declined 80% since the arrival of the 49ers in 1946. The squad featured nine future NFL players, including Pro Football Hall of Fame members Matson, Marchetti, and St.Clair, and five earned Pro Bowl selections at some point in their career. The team’s Sports Information Director, Pete Rozelle, served as NFL Commissioner for 29 years.
After graduating with a degree in Business Administration in 1952, Henneberry served as a 1st Lieutenant in the United States Army, and was stationed in Japan during the Korean War. Following his military service, he earned a Master’s Degrees in Arts in Secondary School Administration, and in Psychology at USF. He then returned to Sacred Heart as a teacher and football coach, and in 1965 was named San Francisco Preparatory Football Coach of the Year. His Sacred Heart team won the League Championship in 1957, and advanced to the playoffs three times. Sacred Heart’s practice field is named in his honor. Henneberry also taught at A.P. Giannini Middle School, and was an administrator in San Francisco public schools. He was inducted into San Francisco’s Preparatory Hall of Fame. Henneberry coached the Notre Dame Irish to a football championship in 1965 and was named Coach of the Year.
Toward the end of 1984, Henneberry began his service as Director of Development for Athletics, a post created to help prepare the school for its return to intercollegiate basketball in 1985. Henneberry was an integral figure in the formation and operation of the Green and Gold Club, the University’s athletic fund-raising organization, as well as key player in the effort to increase the endowment fund.
Under his leadership between 1984 to 1998, the Green and Gold Club raised millions and club membership increased to 600. Simultaneously the athletic endowment rose significantly. As a result, USF ranked second in the WCC in fund-raising. None of these accomplishments would have been possible without Henneberry’s leadership and strong character. In recognition of his tireless devotion, Henneberry was named USF Alumnus of the Year in 2005.
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