"Hollywood" Henderson Wins Lotto
If you remember Super Bowls X, XII and XIII, then you probably remember Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson. Henderson appeared in those championship games as a linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys back in the 1970's. But now he's in the news for another reason.
Henderson told CBS News he is holding the lone winning ticket from Wednesday's $28 million Texas Lottery.
And how did he find out that he was a winner? Henderson had bought $100 worth of Quick Pick lottery tickets at a pharmacy near his home in Austin. While he was out on the golf course Thursday, he got a call from his ex-wife to tell him that someone at the pharmacy had won the lottery. He checked the tickets in his truck and found the winning one. Later, he said, his ex-wife came by to check the numbers and fainted.
His winning numbers were: 5-8-17-35-38-41.
"I'm the winner," said Henderson. "I am the only ticket holder here in Texas. It's a blessing."
As for how he's going to spend the money, it looks like his ex-wife will get some. Henderson didn't say exactly how much she'd get. "She's looking to retire. You know how ex-wives are. That was my NFL wife.".
Henderson graduated from the old Anderson High School in East Austin in 1971. Eventually, the school was torn down to build a parking lot. Henderson later bought it and used community contributions to convert the parking lot into a football field.
He played for the Dallas Cowboys from 1975 until 1979 and was in three Super Bowls. When he was 28, Coach Tom Landry cut him from the team because of drug use.
Then in 1983, Henderson was arrested after smoking crack cocaine with two teenaged girls. Police said he threatened the girls with a .38-caliber pistol, sexually assaulted one of them and held them against their will. The former gridiron star served 28 months in prison.
But Henderson turned his life around. He says he has been alcohol and drug-free for the last 16 years and has established himself as a community leader in Austin, running a non-profit organization called the East Side Youth Services and Street Outreach.
At age 46, Henderson also spends time on the lecture circuit, speaking at prisons, rehab clinics and schools. He talks about his own struggle with crack cocaine and how it ended his football career and landed him in prison.
Henderson said he was doing well financially before, and after getting over the initial excitement brought on by his newfound wealth, he figures to keep doing what he has been doing. "I'm just going to continue to do the charities that I do, take care of my children and buy my mama a Town Car."