Vincent Joseph Banonis (April 9, 1921 – October 23, 2010) was an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
player. He played college football at the
University of Detroit Mercy
The University of Detroit Mercy is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 ...
where he was selected as a first-team All-American in 1940. He also played in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) for the
Chicago Cardinals
The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons.
Roots ca ...
from
1942
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...
to
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...
, and for the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
from
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
to
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
. He was a first-team All-NFL player three times and played on three NFL championship teams. He was inducted into the
Michigan Sports Hall of Fame
The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports athletes, coaches and contributors. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director Biggie Munn, presid ...
in 1975 and the
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
in 1986.
Early years
Banonis was born on April 9, 1921, in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
, Michigan, to a family of
Lithuanian origin. He attended
Detroit Catholic Central High School
Detroit Catholic Central High School, commonly known as Catholic Central (CC), is a private, Catholic, all-male, college preparatory high school in Novi, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1928 in Detroit, Michigan by the Archdiocese of Detroi ...
. He was the center and captain for Catholic Central team that won a Detroit city championship.
[
]
College football
Banonis enrolled at the University of Detroit
The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic universi ...
in 1938 and played at the center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
position (on both offense and defense) for head coach Gus Dorais
Charles Emile "Gus" Dorais (July 2, 1891 – January 3, 1954) was an American football player, coach, and athletic administrator.
Dorais played college football at the University of Notre Dame, where he was an All-American in 1913 at quarterback ...
' Detroit Titans football
The Detroit Titans were the college football team which represented the University of Detroit (now University of Detroit Mercy) from 1896 to 1964. Under head coach Gus Dorais in 1928, the Titans won all nine of their games. Several years later ...
team from 1939 to 1941. In 1939, Detroit's line coach, Bud Boeringer, who had been an All-American center at Notre Dame, told reporters that he had never had a better candidate for center than Banonis.[ He was reported to be "almost uncanny at diagnosing plays" on defense and to be "particularly strong on forward pass defense."] At the end of the 1941 season, Banonis was chosen as a first-round All-American by ''Collier's Weekly
''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Colli ...
'' (selected by Grantland Rice
Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio.
Early years
Rice wa ...
), International News Service
The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909. , and Paramount News. He was also chosen as a second-team All-American by the Newspaper Enterprise Association
The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news ...
.
Professional football
Banonis was selected by the Chicago Cardinals
The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons.
Roots ca ...
in the fourth round of the 1942 NFL Draft
The 1942 National Football League Draft was held on December 22, 1941, at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago. Two members of the draft class have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Bill Dudley, the first overall selection by the Pit ...
with the 29th overall pick. Banonis appeared in 11 games for the 1942 Cardinals and intercepted two passes that season.[
Banonis' football career was interrupted for three years by wartime service in the ]United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during World War II.[ He returned to the Cardinals in 1946 and remained with the club through the 1950 season. During his time with the Cardinals, he was selected as a first-team All-NFL player three times (1947, by UPI, 1948, by Chicago Herald Am. and NY Daily News, and 1949, by Int. News Service) and a second-team All-NFL player three times (1946, by NY Daily News, 1948, by Sporting News and UPI, and 1949, by UPI).][ He intercepted 11 passes from 1946 to 1949 and led the NFL with 83 return yards on two fumble recoveries in 1947.][ He was a member of the 1947 Cardinals team that won the NFL championship.
In July 1950, Banonis' younger brother, Vic Banonis, was signed by the Cardinals after playing college football at Georgetown. However, his brother did not appear in any regular season games in the NFL.
In 1951, Banonis was traded by the Cardinals to the ]Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
in exchange for offensive lineman Jack Simmons. Banonis appeared in 36 games at center for the Lions from 1951 to 1953 and played on the Lions' NFL championship teams in 1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
and 1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
.[ The Lions signed center Joe Schmidt in 1953, and Banonis appeared in his last professional football game that year at age 32.
]
Later years
Banonis has been inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame
The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports athletes, coaches and contributors. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director Biggie Munn, presid ...
(1975) and the College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
(1986).[ He died in 2010 at age 89 at Providence Hospital in ]Southfield, Michigan
Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618.
As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its ...
.[ He was buried at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banonis, Vince
1921 births
2010 deaths
American football centers
American football defensive tackles
American people of Lithuanian descent
Card-Pitt players
Chicago Cardinals players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
Detroit Titans football players
Detroit Lions players
Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks football players
Players of American football from Detroit
Detroit Catholic Central High School alumni
United States Navy personnel of World War II