Vince Banonis
Banonis in 1941
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| Date of birth | April 9, 1921 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Detroit, Michigan |
| Date of death | October 23, 2010 (aged 89) |
| Place of death | Southfield, Michigan |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Center, Defensive tackle |
| College | University of Detroit |
| NFL draft | 1942 / Round: 4 / Pick: 29 |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1942–1943 | Chicago Cardinals |
| 1944 | Card-Pitt |
| 1945–1950 | Chicago Cardinals |
| 1951–1953 | Detroit Lions |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Honors | College Football HOF |
| Career stats | |
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Vincent Joseph Banonis (April 9, 1921 – October 23, 2010) was an American football player. He played college football at the University of Detroit where he was selected as a first-team All-American in 1940. He also played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Cardinals from 1942 to 1950, and for the Detroit Lions from 1951 to 1953. 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 in 1975 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986.
Banonis was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1921. He was of Lithuanian origin. He attended Detroit Catholic Central High School. He was the center and captain for Catholic Central team that won a Detroit city championship.
Banonis enrolled at the University of Detroit in 1938 and played at the center position (on both offense and defense) for head coach Gus Dorais' Detroit Titans football 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 (selected by Grantland Rice),International News Service, and Paramount News. He was also chosen as a second-team All-American by the Newspaper Enterprise Association.
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