New Orleans TV Sports Director and local legend retires; and he will be missed on the air

Jim Henderson to retire from WWL-TV, continue as New Orleans Saints radio play-by-play man

Published: Wednesday, January 04, 2012

By The Times-Picayune NOLA.com

 Longtime WWL-TV sports director Jim Henderson will retire from the station when his contract expires Feb. 1, but will continue in his role as the New Orleans Saints radio play-by-play announcer, Henderson informed colleagues in an email this week.

BRETT DUKE / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE ARCHIVEJim Henderson gives a thumbs-up during a 2009 radio broadcast of a New Orleans Saints game. Henderson will retire from WWL-TV on Feb. 1, but remain in his role as the radio voice of the Saints.

"All good things must come to an end, and for me, that's my career here at Channel 4 that has encompassed nearly 34 years," Henderson wrote. "This will allow me some much-needed time with my family and the things that I enjoy doing, for which there has just not been enough time during the football season in recent years."
His departure is the second high-profile on-air loss the CBS affiliate has suffered in the last month. Local lifestyle correspondent Frank Davis announced his semi-retirement on Dec. 20.
Unlike Davis, who will continue to make occasional appearances on the station, the 65-year-old Henderson is officially retiring from local TV 34 years after he replaced Hap Glaudi as WWL sports director.
His contract expires at the end of this month, but Henderson will continue to report for Channel 4 through the Feb. 5 Super Bowl if the Saints are playing in it.
"Otherwise it's time to turn the page on the next chapter of life," he said.
WWL news director Bill Siegel said that the station had hoped to sign Henderson to a new contract, but the Rochester, N.Y., native decided the time was right to step aside.
“After 34 years with WWL, Jim has more than earned his retirement," WWL news director Bill Siegel said. "Everyone at WWL wanted to keep working with him, but we respect Jim’s decision to make this change in his life. On a personal level, I will miss the opportunity to watch his commentaries following Saints games, his excellent writing, and his presence in our newsroom.”
Shortly after signing a new two-year contract in 2010, Henderson told Times-Picayune TV columnist Dave Walker that the thought of cutting back on his TV work had already crossed his mind.
"I don't think I'm one of those people who has to be 'Jim Henderson, that guy on television,' " he said then.
Citing the Los Angeles Dodgers' 82-year-old play-by-play man' Vin Scully, Henderson added at the time that he saw his Saints game work, which began in 1982, continuing indefinitely.
"I love the expectation, " he said. "I love the preparation. I love the excitement. I love the discipline. I love the feeling of calling a real good game. It's the closest thing I think you can get to playing, being a play-by-play announcer.
"I'm one of 32 guys in the county who gets the chance to do it. I savor every second of it."