LUBBOCK, Texas – The National College Baseball Hall of Fame selected California alumnus Thelton Henderson as its latest recipient of the George H.W. Bush Distinguished Alumnus Award, honoring his post-college baseball achievements as an accomplished civil rights advocate and federal judge.
 
A transformative figure in social justice, Henderson was the first Black attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and cultivated a long legal career that included more than 30 years of service as a U.S. District Judge. He was a two-year letterwinner in baseball at Cal from 1954-55.
 
Henderson joins a prestigious group of past recipients of the award, including President George H.W. Bush, Bobby Brown, Congressman Roger Williams, legendary sportscaster Vin Scully and former major leaguer John Olerud. The Hall of Fame will celebrate the life and career of Henderson during a Virtual College Baseball Night of Champions ceremony this week.
 
"The Hall of Fame is honored to present the Bush Award to Judge Henderson," said Mike Gustafson, president and CEO of the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, in a statement. "His distinguished legal career makes him an outstanding recipient of the Bush Award. He has enjoyed such an interesting and accomplished life and embodies what we look for in the Bush Award."
 
Henderson's collegiate athletics career originally started in football, which he lettered in twice (1951-52) before suffering a knee injury as a sophomore. After deciding to give baseball a shot, Henderson became a key hitter and played outfield and third base for the Bears under legendary head coach Clint Evans.
 
Academically, Henderson graduated from Cal with a B.A. in 1956 and earned his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1962; he was one of just two Black students in his '62 class.  Soon after, he joined the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he prosecuted voting rights cases in the Deep South. Henderson returned to the Bay Area in 1964 to practice general law with the firm of Fitzsimmons and Petris.

From 1966-68, Henderson served as an attorney for the East Bayshore Neighborhood Legal Center in East Palo Alto, and in 1968, he was appointed an assistant dean of the Stanford Law School, where he taught several courses and established a minority admissions program. He also served as a consultant for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the Office of Economic Opportunity, the Council on Legal Education Opportunity, the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Ford Foundation's Office of Public Health.

Henderson returned to private practice in 1977, specializing in civil rights, civil liberties and constitutional law cases. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed him to the U.S. District Court of Northern California. Henderson served as Chief Judge for the district from 1990-97 and served on the bench for nearly four decades before retiring in 2017. He still co-teaches a course at Berkeley Law and serves as a visiting lecturer for other classes while meeting with students and conducting research.
 
Henderson has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the American Bar Association's Thurgood Marshall Award, the State Bar of California's Bernard E. Witkin Medal and the Distinguished Service Award from the National Bar Association. Berkeley Law established the Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice in his name.
 
ABOUT THE BUSH AWARD
The Distinguished Alumnus Award, which honors the accomplishments of college baseball players who achieved greatness off the diamond, is named after its inaugural recipient, George H.W. Bush, who played at Yale from 1946 to 1948 and was elected the 41st President of the United States. Bush and the Yale Bulldogs clashed with Cal in the inaugural College World Series in 1947, which the Bears won in Kalamazoo, Mich.
 
ABOUT THE COLLEGE BASEBALL FOUNDATION/HALL OF FAME
The College Baseball Foundation and National College Baseball Hall of Fame, based in Lubbock, Texas, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to recognizing and preserving the history of college baseball. In addition to the annual induction of the Hall of Fame class, the organization presents numerous awards to current college baseball players, coaches and umpires during its annual Night of Champions event. The organization was founded in 2004, and the first Hall of Fame class was inducted in 2006. More information can be found at www.collegebaseballhall.org.
 
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