Spring 2011 Issue - Lehman College

alumni spotlight
Tennis, Anyone?
Douglas Henderson, Jr. ‘69
Became a Close Friend to Some of the Greats
In his new book, Endeavor to Persevere: A Memoir on Jimmy
Connors, Arthur Ashe, Tennis and Life (Untreed Reads), Douglas
Henderson, Jr. (B.A., ’69) recalls his unlikely journey from the
Bronx to a backstage pass to the top tennis matches of the 1970s
and 80s.
It all started simply enough. An accomplished athlete in high school
and college—the South Bronx native was a star on Lehman’s tennis
squad—Henderson fell in love with the game and, along with a
friend, went to the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens, where
they bought a pair of cheap tickets to the 1974 U.S. Open. Once
there, he and his buddy managed to slip into the dressing room,
and a chance encounter with tennis phenom Jimmy Connors
changed his life.
Henderson and his friend were watching Chris Evert practice when
a voice from behind them asked, “Mind if I squeeze in?” It was
Connors (then Evert’s fiancé). After watching Connors chat with
Henderson, the tennis pro’s coach, Pancho Segura, had an idea. He
told Connors that with Henderson as his bodyguard, “nobody *****
with you!” (In those days, Connors was hardly a fan favorite.) From
that moment on, Henderson became Connors’s bodyguard/aidede-camp
when the tennis superstar was in New York. He and his
buddy quickly became known as “the James Gang.”
“That could never happen today,” Henderson
points out. “The game has changed so
much. No one would be able to sneak into
the star’s locker room.” Or, for that matter,
buy two inexpensive tickets.
Henderson would go on to become close
friends with other tennis stars at the time,
including Illie Nastase and the iconic Arthur
Ashe, whom he befriended after looking up
his number in the New York phonebook;
that friendship lasted up to the day in 1989
that Ashe died of AIDS. “I would talk to
Arthur at least once a day toward the end,”
recalls Henderson. “Sometimes five times a day.”
Henderson himself has a place in tennis history. During the
infamous 1979 Open match between John McEnroe and Illie
Nastase—whose nickname was Mr. Nasty—a riot almost broke out
in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Henderson can be seen in famous
photos of the match in his trademark white cap, walking onto the
court trying to protect his friend, Nastase.
Endeavor to Persevere: A Memoir on Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe,
Tennis and Life is available in a Kindle edition at www.amazon.com.
From Alumni Relations Director
Cristina Necula continued
The Alumni Office has already begun to follow through on these
preferences by collaborating with the Performing Arts Center
and the Art Gallery to provide events around performances and
exhibits, such as the recent combined event on February 20 that
featured both the “Vienna Waltz Gala” and “New York Fiber in the
Twenty-First Century” (see the story on page 10). Thanks to the
College’s Career Services Office, we are also able to invite alumni
to the career expos organized by that office throughout the year,
including the recent one held on April 13. We also planned the first
alumni trip to Washington, D.C., as part of our goal to institute travel
opportunities—which we are looking to expand into various areas
and beyond one-day trips.
The majority of participants chose the Bronx as their preferred location
for attending an alumni event (62%), followed by Manhattan
(48%), the Lehman campus (37%), and Westchester, N.Y. (30%).
Weekends during the day topped the list as the preferred day/time
for an event (62%). Weekend evenings came in second (55%),
followed by weekday evenings (34%). An overwhelming 73% said
28 Lehman Today/Spring 2011
they would especially like to see former classmates at an alumni
event, while 50% expressed interest in seeing faculty, and 49%
prefer to interact with alumni in their own field.
In expressing interest to be involved with Lehman College, 20% of
the participants said they would like to speak to current students,
17% would participate as speakers on career panels, and 15%
equally chose speaking with prospective students and helping
organize regional events and activities. The Alumni Office will
collaborate with various departments such as Career Services
and Enrollment Management to facilitate opportunities for alumni
involvement, based on these preferences.
Please stay tuned for follow-ups on the wide-reaching impact that
the survey feedback has already begun to have, not just on alumni
programming but also on mutually beneficial alumni engagement
in the life of Lehman and our students (and future alumni).
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome at
alumni@lehman.cuny.edu.