Sports fans throughout the nation are mourning the passing of Lou Henson, the legendary head coach of the Fighting Illini basketball team from 1975-1996. Our bridge community is saddened, too, by the loss of the most popular player in our area.
Lou was not a well-known bridge player outside central Illinois, but there are few who loved the game more. He and his wife Mary started playing when they were young parents because it was the only entertainment they could afford. As his career became more demanding, he squeezed in games whenever possible, but there wasn't time to pursue it as seriously,
That changed when he retired from coaching. He approached bridge with the same passion he devoted to basketball. In his spare time -- when he wasn't being honored at an awards ceremony, hosting a charity event or doing a TV interview -- he was playing bridge.
Lou and Mary hosted daily games at their home and Lou was soon persuaded to try duplicate. His first experience was in a Swiss team at the Illini Regional in Champaign. He could barely finish a hand that day without a fan asking for his autograph.
Bridge was put on hold again in 1997 when he returned to coaching at New Mexico State, where he had been head coach before coming to Illinois. He was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2003 and later hospitalized with viral encephalitis, an infection that causes brain inflammation. During his long rehabilitation, he found that playing cards was helping him regain his mental and physical functions.
Fully recovered and retired again in 2005, Lou put his energy back into bridge. He studied the game, modernized his bidding and improved rapidly. He became a regular player at Bridge at Ginger Creek in Champaign IL and the Belton Bridge Center at his winter home in Las Cruces NM.
Lou was a bona fide celebrity in Illinois and New Mexico and beyond, but it was his warm personality and love of the game that made him a star with bridge players. Unimpressed with his own fame, he was genuinely interested in other people's lives and he loved hearing their bridge stories. When you came to his table, you didn't have the chance to ask how he was doing because he was cheerfully asking about you. He remembered everyone's names, their kids' names, their scores from last week's game.
Lou was also a great ambassador for our game. He taught many friends to play and he always "talked up" bridge in interviews. "Bridge is truly a game for life," Coach told a reporter. "Emotionally, it will take you from the depths to the mountaintop and back. You will never be bored.”
We will miss this great man whose kindness, competitive spirit and unflagging happiness set an example for all of us and took him to that mountaintop, where's he's now winning every hand.