Larry Banner
American gymnast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lawrence Shyres Banner (June 4, 1936 – November 28, 2013) was an American gymnast. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics and the 1964 Summer Olympics.[1]
| Larry Banner | |
|---|---|
A sketch of Banner from the Los Angeles Daily News in 1953. | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Larry Shyres Banner |
| Born | June 4, 1936 Van Nuys, California, U.S. |
| Died | November 28, 2013 (aged 77) Modesto, California, U.S. |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Gymnastics career | |
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics |
| Country represented | United States |
| College team | UCLA Bruins (1955–1957) |
| Club | Los Angeles Turners |
| Head coach(es) | Ralph Borelli |
| Former coach(es) |
|
| Retired | c. 1964 |
Early life and education
Banner was born on June 4, 1936, in Van Nuys, California. At seven years old, he was diagnosed with polio which required the use of a wheelchair and later crutches.[2] He continued to take special physical education classes until the 10th grade.[2] Banner attended Van Nuys High School where he was able to participate in various sports, including gymnastics under coach Barney Quinn, by 11th grade.[2][3][4] He excelled in gymnastics and later attended Los Angeles Valley College where he competed for their gymnastics team from 1954 to 1955 under coach Al Arps.[5][6] He later enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles to pursue gymnastics.
Gymnastics career
While at student at UCLA, Banner was a member of the UCLA Bruins men's gymnastics team. He began competing for UCLA for the 1955-56 season as a junior.[7][8][9] His last season with the Bruins was 1957.[10]
Post-gymnastics life
Banner was a teacher and taught for 16 years at Turlock High School.[3] He curated the website, www.gymnasticshalloffame.org, which included detailed biographies of those influential to the sport where coverage from USA Gymnastics was lacking.[3] Contributors to his research included fellow USA Gymnastics Hall of Famers Abie Grossfeld and Jerry Wright.[3]
Banner died on November 28, 2013, in Modesto, California.[2]
