Monmouth College Athletics

Ed Bencini stepped into the quarterback position as a sophomore and immediately made his mark. He was a tremendous broken field runner and punt returner, known for eluding tacklers with an array of spinning or side-stepping moves.

He missed his sophomore year of basketball due to injuries but, when healthy, he played the sport with similar gusto, and during his junior year he proved to be a clever defensive player and an accurate long-range shooter from the guard position. Although a shoulder injury kept him out of most of the basketball season his senior year, he came back to play the best game of his career in a 29-23 upset win over the University of Iowa.

After graduation, Bencini went on to become a legendary teacher and coach in Murphysboro, Ill., posting a career football record of 82-12-8 and winning 177 basketball games.