Death of Henry Marks End of Era

Legendary Arkansas sports writer and editor Orville Henry, 77, died March 16 at his home in Malvern.

Henry, who began covering University of Arkansas athletics in 1942, survived 25 months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Among his survivors are his sons Clay Henry, publisher of Hawgs Illustrated in Fayetteville, and Butch Henry, general manager of Crimson Tide Sports Marketing in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Orville Henry was sports editor of the Arkansas Gazette for 46 years and later a writer for the Arkansas Democrat and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (the name the Arkansas Democrat adopted after the Arkansas Gazette ceased publication in 1991).

Since 1996, Henry wrote regular commentaries for Donrey Media Group (which recently changed its name to Stephens Media Group) and for Hawgs Illustrated.

Henry co-wrote a book titled “The Razorbacks: The Story of Arkansas Football” and in 2001 became the first print journalist elected to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. He was a past president of the American Football Writers Association and was already slated to receive the UA’s 2002 Ernie Deane Award for excellence in journalism.

The press box at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock is named for Henry.