William Bonsall

Bill Bonsall entered Penn State prior to serving in World War II with the US Army. He was with the forces landing on Normandy on D-Day and was later captured by the Germans in September 1944 in Dinant, Belgium. Bonsall made a daring escape in January 1945, getting to Warszawa via Russia.

After the war ended he re-enrolled at Penn State, placing second in all-around at the 1948 NCAA Championships and leading the Nittany Lions to the team championships. Bonsall also won the 1946 AAU title on rings. He graduated in 1949 and earned a masters at West Virginia University, where he served as gymnastics coach for 31 years, leading them to three Southern Conference championships. Bonsall retired from coaching in 1980 and is a member of the US Gymnastics Hall of Fame, the West Virginia Sports Writers’ Hall of Fame, and the West Virginia School of Physical Education Hall of Fame.