Joe Dock Henson was born on May 10,1936, in Grant, Alabama, to Bama Henson and Vera Seglar Henson. Joe was the youngest in a family of four brothers; Bama Jr., Byron, Earlene, and Samuel; and two sisters, Marie Henson Kennamer and Louise Henson Parker.

Joe started playing basketball in an era when young boys honed their basketball skills in someone’s backyard on a dirt court played with a basket, nowhere close to regulation, attached on a wall of a barn or to a tree that you learned to dodge at the same time you released the ball to the goal. Joe excelled in the sport playing in auditoriums that were heated with a large coal-fired stove that was located so close to the playing floor that one could easily fall or slide into the heated stove if not careful.

Joe was a starter for five years at the Kate Duncan Smith DAR School. As a junior high player, he was selected to the All-County team twice; scored 50 points in one game, and led his team to two undefeated seasons. He was not only a high-scoring player, but he was also an outstanding rebounder and shot blocker. He would continue to develop these skills for the rest of his basketball career, becoming the quiet leader of the team with a commanding presence on both ends of the floor.

Joe continued to excel in basketball at the varsity level. As a 6’ 5” center, he played an important role in the success of basketball at DAR during his high school tenure, averaging 19.5 points per game. Although rebounding records were not kept during that era at DAR, he continued to be a force at both ends of the court. Joe was a very dedicated player. In a 1955 article, “Arm Broken Still a Star," the local Guntersville newspaper reported, “Joe Dock Henson, DAR’s all-state basketball player, broke his right arm a few weeks ago, but he’s back on the team. The arm is in a cast and he can still use it almost as well as if wasn’t broken. Against Monrovia, a very good Madison County team, at Grant Tuesday night he scored 22 points.”

Joe was selected to the All-County team for two years, the All-District team once and First Team All-State team as a junior in 1954. It is believed that Joe was the first basketball player from Marshall County to be awarded this honor and that DAR was only the second school in Marshall County to participate in the state tournament played in Tuscaloosa. In order to participate in the state tournament in 1954, the team, coached by J.P. Horton, had to beat a tough Trinity team in a hard-fought overtime game in which Joe scored 30 points. Trinity featured an outstanding player, John Kitchens, a charter member of the Marshall County Sports Hall of Fame and former DAR Coach who guided DAR to five state tournament appearances and the 1965 State Championship.

Joe was coached by legendary Hall of Fame coach Earl Morris as a senior. After graduating from high school, he received a Basketball scholarship to Athens State College where he continued playing basketball under Coach James Montgomery. Some of his teammates were Kyle Holiday and John Childers, who later became the head football coach at Butler High School in Huntsville.

Joe will be remembered by many as a very good basketball official, calling games for about 15 years. He was involved with a group of men in the formation of the North Marshall County Basketball Officials Association. Prior to the forming of the association, former athletes would negotiate individual contracts with schools as officials.

Joe has continued to be an avid supporter of his school and community. As a proud alumnus, he recently spearheaded a fund-raising drive to erect a bronze bust of DAR School founder, Kate Duncan Smith, on campus in front of the log cabin that serves as the school’s museum.

Joe is married to Betty J. Henson. He has two daughters, Tina Carothers and Pamela Allison, five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.