User:Halvorsen brian/Benny Henderson (baseball)

James Benjamin "Benny" Henderson (October 30, 1883 – July 11, 1951) was a professional baseball player who played nine seasons with minor league and independent teams. Following the 1906 season, Henderson was blacklisted from organized baseball because he signed a contract with the Stockton Millers of the California State League, which was not recognized under National Agreement of Professional Baseball. At the time, Henderson was not under contract with his former team, the Portland Beavers, but they had exclusive signing rights to him and he could only sign with another team if Portland was compensated, which never occurred. Henderson attempted to re-join organized baseball in 1910 and was offered a contact by Portland, but he was ruled ineligible. In 1911, he was allowed to sign with the Beavers and played two seasons with the team.

New York University librarian George A. Thompson credits Henderson with the first usage of the word "jazz" in 1912.