Bones Benson to Be Honored at SUNY Broome

A Binghamton sports legend is getting his due honor.  Bones Bensen moved faster than a buzzing hornet, making shot after shot on the basketball court.

More than 60 years later, Bernard Bensen remains a proud part of Binghamton and SUNY Broome athletic history with the unbeaten record for the most points scored during a basketball game: 63. On January 23, the college will honor the late alumnus immediately before the January 23 men’s basketball game in the Baldwin Gym – coincidentally named after Bensen’s coach, Dick Baldwin, often remembered as the winningest coach in college basketball history.

At approximately 2:30 pm, officials will present Bensen’s family with a collage remembering his contributions to SUNY Broome basketball. At 3 pm, the Hornets – wearing special warm-up shirts in Bensen’s memory – will play against Jefferson Community College. Then, during halftime, officials will unveil a special display case that will impart the player’s history to future generations of Hornets.

Bensen died on August 15 at the age of 81.

Also known as Bernie, the 6-foot-2 shooter played basketball for the Hornets from 1953 to 1955, back when Broome Tech was part of the Empire State Basketball Conference. The Dickinson campus didn’t yet exist, and the college played its home games in the Kalurah Temple in downtown Binghamton.

News releases at the time described Benson as “Broome Tech’s sharpshooting toothpick,” and noted that he had never played basketball while at Binghamton North High School, since he was considered too thin for the team. That didn’t hold the slender man back; he was one of the conference’s leading scorers. In game after game, he piled on the points, averaging at least 25 points per game.

During that famous March 1955 game with Alfred Tech, Bensen’s 63-point contribution helped the Hornets defeat their rivals by 114 to 79. Coach Baldwin, who had been bedridden with a 105-degree fever, was on hand to see it; without an assistant, he still needed to show up to coach the game, he told the Associated Press.

That record game was one of Bensen’s proudest accomplishments – and easily visible to the public, thanks to his “Bones 63” license plate. From Broome, a basketball scholarship took him to Hartwick College, where he earned a bachelor’s in Business Education, followed by a master’s in Guidance from SUNY Oneonta.

He began his career in education in Otego Central School and then came to Chenango Forks Central School in 1965, where he worked as a guidance counselor until retirement. According to his obituary, he was well-known for keeping Hershey’s Kisses in his desk for students who needed cheering up, as well as for his fabulous backyard parties at the end of the school year. Of course, he kept up his basketball skills by playing on the faculty basketball team.

Bensen remained a proud Hornet, serving two terms on the alumni Board of Directors, as well as a brief stint on the Broome Community College Foundation board.