Jerry Henderson

In the 1990s, no church team dominated the local slowpitch scene like People’s Church, and Jerry Henderson was an important part of that success.

Henderson, born in 1947 in Tacoma, had a long and storied softball career with People’s, primarily patrolling the outfield from 1979-97. During that long run, Henderson was a key player in People’s winning USSSA World Church Championships in 1991 and 1993 and the NSA World Church Championship in 1995.

People’s won its share of tournament and league championships, and Henderson brought home plenty of all-star hardware. Jerry participated in 19 World Championship tournaments, during which time he was honored to be a member of the People’s Church/Worth team.  During this time he played in six Church “A” World Championship games, winning 3 Church “A” World Championships, 1991 and 1993 with USSSA and 1995 with another association. He retired from the sport in 1998.

Prior to joining up with People’s, he started making a name for himself in the local softball circles when he began playing for Lucky Lager in 1971 in the Western Washington League and then played with Wested Tire, Heidelberg and Tacoma Slowpitch.

Henderson graduated from Puyallup High School in 1965 and from Washington State University in 1969 where he quarterbacked the Cougars for several seasons. He eventually earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and is currently a school psychologist in the Bethel School District.