1. Vincent Joseph Banonis was an American football player.
19 Facts About Vince Banonis
1. 2.
Vince Banonis played college football at the University of Detroit Mercy where he was selected as a first-team All-American in 1940.
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Vince Banonis played in the National Football League for the Chicago Cardinals from 1942 to 1950, and for the Detroit Lions from 1951 to 1953.
4.
Vince Banonis was a first-team All-NFL player three times and played on three NFL championship teams.
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Vince Banonis was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1975 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986.
6.
Vince Banonis was the center and captain for Catholic Central team that won a Detroit city championship.
7.
Vince Banonis enrolled at the University of Detroit in 1938 and played at the center position for head coach Gus Dorais' Detroit Titans football team from 1939 to 1941.
8.
Vince Banonis was chosen as a second-team All-American by the Newspaper Enterprise Association.
9.
Vince Banonis was selected by the Chicago Cardinals in the fourth round of the 1942 NFL draft with the 29th overall pick.
10.
Vince Banonis appeared in 11 games for the 1942 Cardinals and intercepted two passes that season.
11.
Vince Banonis returned to the Cardinals in 1946 and remained with the club through the 1950 season.
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Vince Banonis intercepted 11 passes from 1946 to 1949 and led the NFL with 83 return yards on two fumble recoveries in 1947.
13.
Vince Banonis was a member of the 1947 Cardinals team that won the NFL championship.
14.
In 1951, Vince Banonis was traded by the Cardinals to the Detroit Lions in exchange for offensive lineman Jack Simmons.
15.
Vince Banonis appeared in 36 games at center for the Lions from 1951 to 1953 and played on the Lions' NFL championship teams in 1952 and 1953.
16.
The Lions signed center Joe Schmidt in 1953, and Vince Banonis appeared in his last professional football game that year at age 32.
17.
Vince Banonis has been inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.
18.
Vince Banonis died in 2010 at age 89 at Providence Hospital in Southfield, Michigan.
19.
Vince Banonis was buried at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield.