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Friday, March 03, 1989....
The "Coach" is gone, Al Henderson passes away at the age of 82
The sport of archery loses one of the great ones.
Alfred K. Henderson, who coached over 5,000 archers including Olympian, Darrell Pace and Luann Ryon died March 3, 1989 at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical
Center in Phoenix. He was 82.
The man known as "Coach" was honored with many awards during his long career including the Compton Medal of Honor in 1979 from the National Field Archery Association, the highest honor given to an archer. In 1982 he joined the ranks of other legends of archery as a member of the Archery Hall of Fame becoming the 33rd inductee.
Henderson, born in Sedalia, Mo.
became involved with archery in 1937 when he took up the sport for exercise. By the time he moved to Arizona
in 1946, he had already mastered target archery and had worked as a coach. He was one of the first people in the country to manufacture aluminum arrows and eventually opened Henderson
archery supply store in the valley. Henderson
lost an attempt to be the 1972 Olympic coach with the Soviets objected to using a professional coach, but as the Olympic coach in 1976 he was applauded worldwide as one of the top archery coaches in the world.
In 1975 he developed a program for blind archers and through his business, he established the first national championship for the blind.
Al was a Life member of the Arizona Bowhunters Association, the National Field Archery Association and the Professional Archers Association for which he served as a member of the Board of Directors for twelve years. He was also noted for his writing. He wrote several magazine articles about the sport, including a monthly column for Archery World. He also published two books, Understanding Winning Archery (1983) and Peak Performance Archery. All of archery has lost a true friend.
April 27, 1988.......
Papa Bear Dies
The Big Sky Magazine - Summer 1988
A GENTLE LEGEND DEAD AT 86
GAINESVILLE—Fred Bear, revered and loved by millions of archers around the world, passed away at noon (12:40 P.M.) on April 27, 1988 in Shands Teaching Hospital, at the University of Florida. Succumbing after a month long stay in the hospital, Fred died after a final heart attack. He had been revived by CPR following his first heart attack a week-and-a-half earlier. Fred had suffered for several years from emphysema and congestive heart failure.
A familiar figure at dealer and consumer gatherings, Fred had made his last appearances at the SHOT Show and Safari Club International meetings in Las Vegas in January. His career in archery spanned sixty-one years, and began on the day that he saw the Art Young silent film, ALASKAN ADVENTURES, at the Adams Theatre in 1927 in Detroit.
A Memorial Service was held on May 2 at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Gainesville following cremation. Fred's ashes have been returned to the Earth in a spot where he loved to hunt and fish.
Eulogies were given at the Memorial Service by three people close to Fred for many years: Brigadier General Joe Henry Engle, retired Astronaut and Commander of the Space Shuttles Columbia, Discovery, and Enterprise; Frank Scott, Curator of The Fred Bear Museum and also Bear Archery's longest tenure employee, and Dick Lattimer, Executive Director of The Fred Bear Sports Club and Bear Archery Advertising Manager.
August 19, 1986.....
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