Richard E. Bonacci
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- Organization:
- Wrestling
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- Year:
- Class of 1983
Dick Bonacci was inducted into the CSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983 in his first year of eligibility followed by earlier entries into the Ohio Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the University of Toledo Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Eastern Wrestling League Hall of Fame in 1999.
Dick Bonacci, who won 296 dual matches, coached eight All-Americans, and sent wrestlers to 34 consecutive NCAA Championships during his Cleveland State coaching tenure, has been named to the inaugural class of inductees into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
When Bonacci arrived at Fenn College in 1962, he revived a wrestling program that had been dormant for almost 30 years. Through his hard work and determination, he guided the Foxes through the change to Cleveland State and turned the wrestling program into the most successful program in the athletic department.
In his 36 seasons at CSU, he compiled a 296-177-9 record that featured 31 winning seasons. The Vikings posted winning records in a school-record 19 consecutive seasons from 1964-65 through 1980-81.
A native Clevelander, he became one of the city's wrestling legends at West High School where he starred for three magnificent seasons during which he never lost a match. He won the state championship at 139 lbs. in 1949, 155 lbs in 1950 and 164 lbs. in 1951 while his team also reached levels of success that have not been equalled since.
