Henderson was raised by his teenage mother on the east side of Austin, Texas and played football for the L. C. Anderson High School "B" team until his sophomore year (1969), when he moved to Oklahoma City to live with his grandmother and find a more stable environment.

Although as a senior he earned All-City honors playing defensive end at Douglass High School, he was not recruited by colleges because his career had been shortened, after having to sit out his junior year after transferring.

His personality earned him the nickname "Wild Man" and helped him become a two-time small-college All-American defensive end.

He returned an interception for a 68-yard touchdown (including a crossbar slam dunk) in the 28–0 NFC championship win against the Los Angeles Rams.

Before Super Bowl XIII he started a war of words against the Pittsburgh Steelers, that ended up with him sharing a Newsweek magazine cover with quarterback Terry Bradshaw.

[4] He also pinned Bradshaw's arms, allowing linebacker Mike Hegman to steal the ball and run 37 yards for a touchdown in Super Bowl XIII.

Even though he had great potential as a player, Henderson's destructive lifestyle of drugs and alcohol began to catch up with him.

Coach Tom Landry was so angered by the episode that after threatening to waive him, he instead deactivated Henderson for the remainder of the season by placing him on the reserve-retired list.

[6][7] On May 15, 1980, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a fourth round draft choice (#91, Scott Pelluer).

After his visit with the doctor, Henderson alleged that the head coach Bill Walsh stopped talking to him which he said was out of character for their relationship.

While eating breakfast on the morning of the next game 49ers director of player personnel John McVay called to let him know he was no longer wanted on the team and had been let go on waivers.

[12] He appeared in only six games because of a hamstring injury and played in the Oilers' playoff loss to the Oakland Raiders.

[9] On June 10, Henderson signed with the Miami Dolphins,[13] but suffered what proved to be a career-ending neck injury in the final preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

"[20] Henderson got into a fight with his Dallas Cowboys teammate Randy White in the team locker room.

The linebacker made another run at the defensive tackle but White just grabbed him and stuffed him into a nearby teammates locker.

The felony counts include an allegation that Henderson used a gun while committing the crimes, according to prosecutor Jim Cosper.

[citation needed] Henderson made the news again in 2000 by winning the Lotto Texas US$28 million jackpot.

When asked by The Dallas Morning News what he does every day having won the lottery, Henderson responded, "Not a damn thing, and I don't start that until after lunch".

Henderson says crack cocaine was his downfall, and that embarrassing his mother, family and friends ultimately changed him.

[27] Pearson explained that Henderson was a guest on his show and spoke about his admiration and love for the Dallas Cowboys.

With his Dallas Cowboys gold lone star dental filling in his mouth, Henderson expressed how important it was for him to have been a member of the organization.

For seven days he slept in a tent near one of the goalposts and only consumed a mixture of lemon juice, molasses, cayenne pepper and water.

In his book "Hearing the Noise: My Life in the NFL", former teammate Preston Pearson explained some of the physical traits that contributed to Henderson's talents.