Lions to host two OSU Alumni for party

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Harold “Champ” Henson and Billy Ray Anders will be the featured speakers at the 10th-annual Lions Clubs’ “Beat Michigan” Tailgate Party starting at 6 p.m. this Friday, Nov. 27.

Great tailgate food and Buckeye entertainment will be featured at the Tailgate Party in the Mahan Building on the Fayette County Fairgrounds. There will be live and silent auctions of many Buckeye items and a raffle with five prizes including a Surface 3 Tablet Computer and $600 cash.

Thanks to these efforts, the Lions Clubs were able to donate $7,000. All proceeds from this year will go to local food pantries and Lions sight saving programs.

Henson is a lifelong resident of Pickaway County, a former Walnut Township Trustee, and a local farmer. After graduating from Teays Valley High School, Commissioner Henson attended the Ohio State University on a football scholarship. He currently resides with his wife Karen, and has raised three children, Clayton, Colton, and Cassidy.

Henson played OSU football with Archie Griffin and under coach Woody Hayes for three years (‘72 – ‘74), leading the nation in scoring in 1972, and was a fourth round draft pick by the Minnesota Vikings. Now, Champ is a county commissioner in Pickaway County and owns and operates Henson Family Farm Market, known for sweet corn, fruits and vegetables.

Anders is a resident of Sabina and played under Coach Hayes for three years (‘65 – ‘67). He is 10th on sports writer Mark Rea’s “OSU All Time Best Receivers” list. Every one of the players on this list was a high school star before he got to Ohio State. Not Anders, however. He didn’t even play high school football. On a dare, he went out for the team as a sophomore walk-on and became team captain by his senior year in 1967.

“By his own admission, Anders was the slowest receiver on the team,” Rea wrote. “But what he lacked in quickness, he more than made up for with great hands. Oldtimers still talk about a touchdown catch he had during a 14-10 win over Iowa in 1966. On a third-and-8 play, Anders slipped to the turf while making his cut and still managed to reach up and snag the ball one-handed to sustain the winning touchdown drive. By the time he finished his career in 1967, he was the school’s all-time leading receiver with 108 catches for 1,318 yards.”

Ask any Washington or Jeffersonville Lions Club member for tickets, or call 740-335-4588 for more information. Dinner tickets are only $20 and raffle tickets are $5 each or five for $20.

Harold “Champ” Henson
http://www.recordherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/11/web1_HaroldHenson.jpgHarold “Champ” Henson

Billy Ray Anders
http://www.recordherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/11/web1_BillyRayAnders.jpgBilly Ray Anders

By Martin Graham

[email protected]

Reach Martin Graham at (740) 313-0351 or on Twitter @MartiTheNewsGuy

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