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

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 professional footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

. He was born in Whitburn

Whitburn, South Tyneside

Whitburn is a village in South Tyneside, on the coast of North East England. It lies just to the north of the City of Sunderland in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear. Until 1974, when the Local Government Act 1972 came into being, it was part of County Durham...

, County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

.

Billy Henderson, a right-back

Defender (football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

, began his career with his local side Whitburn from whom he joined Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.

Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....

. He moved to Aberdare Athletic

Aberdare Athletic F.C.

Aberdare Athletic Football Club were a Welsh football club founded in 1893 and based in Aberdare. They joined the Football League in 1921 but were replaced by Torquay United after failing to be re-elected in 1927.-History:...

 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 F.C.

West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

 and was part of the West Ham team that won promotion to the First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

. He also appeared in the famous White Horse Final, the first FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 final to be held at the brand new Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium

The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...

, during the 1922-23

West Ham United F.C. 1922-1923

Major new signings brought in by manager Syd King included inside-left Billy Moore and inside-right Charlie Crossley from First Division clubs Sunderland and Everton...

 season. He was an ever-present for the Hammers during the 1923-24

1923-24 in English football

The 1923–24 season was the 49th season of competitive football in England.-Events:*On 11 November 1923, Aston Villa centre-half Tommy Ball was shot dead by his neighbour, thus becoming the only Football League player to have been murdered.-Honours:...

 season. He left in 1928, having played 183 times and scored one goal.

Henderson was only 34 years old when he died from tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

.