Hide Article Text (OCR)
Death Cuts Short Football PlansGary Bandor had big plans.Me would be out of the service in something like two months and back in school at the University of Wisconsin forthe summer session.And in less than half a year, he would be back playing football, his true love, for the Badgers.Bandor had two years of eligiblity left at Wisconsin, andeven more than that, had put some new designs on his future. He hoped to be a coach.One cruel stroke of fate last week, however, has washed it all down the drain.Bandor, one of N o r t h-west Wisconsin’s as well as Thorp High School’s all-time never again wear the CardinalThe unassuming 22-year-old star who blazed across Cloverbelt gridirons in a devastating fashion only a few years ago died Saturday at 10:15 p.m. at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.Bandor died of severe head injuries incurred in a jeep accident last Tuesday at 4 15 p.m. at Ft. Sill, where he was stationed.Bandor’s two-year Army hitch was only a couple months from being completed when the mishap occured. He was a passenger in a jeep that included three other servicemen.Death was listed due to a cerebral hemorrahage and basal brain damage. Following the accident, he was given almost noBUCKSHOTBy RON BUCK LIgreat all-around athletes, will and White of the Badgers.hope of living but struggled through four days before succumbing.Only biiefly, on Thursday of last week, did he make a rally. And that slight enough to offer little added hope.Bandor entered service in the spring of 1966 and had recently completed almost a year’s active duty in Vietnam.Upon his return to the states, he visited at home and at Madison with Badger Coach John Coatta. That was just a little over a month ago.“Gary spent three or four days down here about a month ago,” Coatta said Monday in a telephone interview. “We had been in contact with him all through his service days— even when he was in Vietnam,” the coach added“Were you counting on Bandor in next fall’s plans?” Coatta was asked.“Very much so,” was the reply. “He was a major letter-winner in 1965 and in spring drills of 1966, he played a defensive back and won the trophy for being the squad’s most improved player.”Bandor entered Wisconsin in the fall of 1964 as an all-state quarterback. Because of his size, 5-104 and 170 pounds, he was switched to a flanker position.As a sophomore, Bandor played the flanker spot and caught 10 passes for 104 yards, including four for 46 yards against Southern Cal. He was switched to a defensive back in spring drills and, needless to say, was very impressive.Rog Hedrington, Bandor’s high school coach and one of hundred’s of Bandor’s Thorp friends shocked by his death, said Gary was anxiously looking forward to getting back to civilianlife.of Thorp Product Gary Bandor“He was all set to go at the University,” Hedrington said. “It appeared to me that he had become much more mature and knew more what he wanted in life.”“He was very much concerned not only about playing football but also the coaching aspect. This is what he was preparinghimself for,” Hedrington said, “He would’ve made a wonderful coach,” Hedrington said. “He had a fine athletic mind and was quick to recognize different situations.” Bandor’s loss was an extremely tough blow for Hedrington. It seems Hedrington took the head coaching job in 1960, the year Gary was a freshman.In Bandor’s four years, Thorp piled up a sensational 29-3 won-lost record. He excelled not only as a passer and runner but also defensively. His statistical record was amazing.He was the all-state quarterback in 1963 and pulled off the remarkable feat of making the All-Northwest team as both a football and basketball player. Only one other athlete,Memorial’s Dick Hanson, has been able to achieve such honors.Bandor, however, almost did it twice. He was named to the football teams in 1962 and 1963 and to the basketball team in the 1963-64 season. He just missed making the basketball team in 1962-63 gaining second team honors.“Gary will be very much missed by me because I was very close to him,” Hedrington said. “He was one of the most outstanding individuals, athletically and otherwise, that I’ve ever been associated with.”Bandor was a great athlete, a fierce competitor and a gentleman. “He had talent to burn, but also had a great deal of humility,” Hedrington said.Bandor’s performance speaks for itself. There are not a great many athletes of his size that can cut it in a conference as tough as the Big Ten.Despite the many honors piled on him, Bandor’s humble attitude never changed. We can recall his modesty when speaking with him in December of 1966 during the YMCA Holiday basketball tournament here.Gary was one of three children of Mr. and Mrs. Jess Bandor of Thorp. An older brother, Larry, teaches at South Milwaukee while a younger sister, Karen, is a senior at Thorp High School.His death is a great shock,” Hedrington said, “and it's really hard to accept the fact he’s gone. But I like to think of him as he was. I never had more hope for a boy.”Gary Bandor will never again flash across the gridiron. But to those of Thorp and the Northwest Wisconsin area who knew him, the shadow of his fine example will always remain.atMUPMrGARY BANDOR
Newspaper Details
Daily Telegram
Eau Claire, Wisconsin, US
Tue, Mar 26, 1968
Page 13
Full Page
Clipped by
Gerald F.
NA, 08 Jun 2018
Other Publications Near Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Eau Claire Telegraph
New North Wisconsin
Eau Claire Evening Free Press
Chippewa Anzeiger
Eau Claire Daily Argus
