There are thousands of Texas Longhorns football lettermen, and John Henderson holds the distinction of being the oldest of them all.
Per KVUE, a party was held for Henderson on Wednesday, Dec. 23, to celebrate his 103rd birthday, though he was actually born on Christmas Eve.
Henderson is a resident of the Longhorn Village Retirement Community, and shared stories during the party of his times playing for the Longhorns in the 1930s. Henderson and his wife, 101-year old Charlotte, have been married an incredible 76 years, and he talked both about the secret to their longevity. He's been a Texas season ticket holder nearly as long -- 75 seasons.
From KVUE's report:
"Anniversary yesterday, birthday tomorrow, Christmas the next day," he told another resident.
"Oh everything comes at once but we like it!" responded Charlotte.
John and Charlotte met in class at The University of Texas in 1934.
"I never realized at any time in my life that I would live this long and I never realized Charlotte and I would be able to celebrate our 76th wedding anniversary," he said. "It's just wonderful to be able to get up every morning and look forward to a new day!"
John was on the football team at UT and still proudly wears his burnt orange ring.
"This tradition was started by Darrell Royal. An athlete who lettered and graduated was given a ring, so when I read about it I called the athletic council and said 'Can the old timers get it?' and he said 'You can buy one' so I bought mine!" John said.
Henderson played ironman football, a guard on both offense and defense. His playing days predate the facemask and, not surprisingly, says the game is entirely different now than it was then.
Let's all wish a very happy birthday to John Henderson.