Muncie basketball legend Ron Bonham dies

MUNCIE — Ron Bonham's name was immortalized more than a half-century ago as Indiana's Mr. Basketball. But the Muncie native's post-sports career gave him a second taste of immortality as a public servant and office-holder.

Bonham died Saturday at age 73, surrounded by family and friends.

Mayor Dennis Tyler broke the news late Saturday afternoon on Twitter.

"Muncie Central basketball legend Ron Bonham passed away peacefully this afternoon with family and friends at his bedside," Tyler tweeted, adding a request that the public respect the privacy of Bonham's family.

Bonham's life was one lived in the spotlight, whether it was on the basketball court or in the public arena.

Bonham was Indiana's Mr. Basketball in 1960, his senior season for the Central High School Bearcats. Bonham scored more than 2,000 career points for Central.

He later played for a national championship team at the University of Cincinnati in 1962, and played professionally for the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers.

After his basketball career, the outdoor enthusiast was the longtime superintendent of Prairie Creek Reservoir.

He was also a three-term Delaware County commissioner.

Tyler remembered Bonham as "a close friend for 60 years," and told The Star Press that they "shared good times and tough times together."

"Ron and his teammates every week filled the Fieldhouse with 7,000 fans," Tyler added.

Bonham and the Bearcats of Muncie's Central High School were unbeaten in their 1959-60 season until falling to East Chicago Washington in the state championship game. In a 1990 interview, Bonham chalked up the loss to overconfidence.

"I think if we had played them another 50 times we would have beaten them every time," he said. "But it was not to be."

After high school, Bonham played at the University of Cincinnati and the team won the NCAA championship in 1962. He was a first-team All-American as a junior and second-team All-American as a senior.

Bonham went on to play on two NBA championship Boston Celtics teams and played for the Indiana Pacers starting in 1967.

Ron Bonham remembered in Fieldhouse ceremony

In November 1990, just weeks after he won his first political office, Bonham was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Even considering his time as a college and professional player, Bonham said at that time that the Hoosier hoops honor was his "most cherished award."

"Indiana is what it's all about," Bonham said. "It's a great honor just to be involved with an elite group of people.

"I have found out through the years that the more success you have as a team, the more success you have as an individual. I was fortunate to play with good players."

In 1995, fans voted Bonham the top local player of all time in a Muncie Evening Press poll. Bonham topped the likes of Jack Moore, Sam Drummer and Chandler Thompson in the voting with 80 percent of the vote.

Bonham even made his mark on the world of pop music. Along with three young friends, Bonham formed the Originals, a doo-wop group that in 1960 recorded two songs, "That Bandstand Sound" and "Lend Me Your Ear," that were played on radio and at countless Midwestern sock hops.

Bonham was, following his basketball stardom, a high-profile and longtime fixture at Prairie Creek Reservoir, where he served as the superintendent of the city-owned park for decades before he was fired in January 2008. In the years after he took the Prairie Creek job in 1970, he was a familiar sight at the park, wearing waders to install boat docks or mowing acres and acres of grass.

Bonham and Prairie Creek became so linked in the minds of most Muncie residents that, following Tyler's election to office in 2011, the mayor instituted an annual "Ron Bonham Day" at Prairie Creek.

Bonham's high profile, in athletics and at Prairie Creek, made him a natural for local Democratic Party politics. In 1990, Bonham was elected Delaware County commissioner with more than 22,000 votes — more than 10,000 votes more than his Republican opponent.

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He served three terms as commissioner, leaving office only after losing a re-election bid in 2002.

His voice tinged with emotion in his final meeting, Bonham said, "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve. I sincerely tried to make positive decisions to improve the quality of life for Delaware County residents."

The crowd at the meeting gave Bonham a standing ovation. It might have been his last but it certainly was not his first.

Services for Ron Bonham are pending at Meeks Mortuary.

Douglas Walker contributed to this report.

Contact Keith Roysdon at 765-213-5828 and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.