A former Fighting Illini football letterman who became a Hall of Famer as a multi-sport official was born on his date in 1932.
Lory Thomas “L.T.” Bonner, born in Fulton, Ky., and a star at Zion High School, played for Illinois head coach Ray Eliot and lettered in 1957 and ’58.
A reserve halfback, he played a key role in helping halfback Bobby Mitchell and fullback Ray Nitschke achieve Big Ten stardom.
Bonner enrolled at Illinois after military service in Korea, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree in education. He eventually became a shop teacher at Chicago’s Phillips High School.