A first-team All-Mid Ohio Conference selection at offensive end as a senior in 1959, Ron Lora ’60 was a main cog in the Bluffton passing game on teams that make up the greatest era of Bluffton football.
During Lora’s four seasons on the gridiron the Beavers posted a combined 20-0 record in the MOC to win four straight conference championships, a feat that has never been duplicated.
Lora lettered all four seasons and was named a team captain for three of those years. With Hall of Famers Elbert Dubenion and Willie Taylor in the backfield for head coach Ken Mast, the running game took center stage, but Lora was still among the team leaders in touchdowns.
Lora also lettered in basketball two seasons for the Beavers and served as president of the Varsity B Club for three years. A graduate of Bluffton High School, his list of other extracurricular activities while at Bluffton is long.
After graduating from Bluffton in 1960 with a degree in business administration, Lora spent several years as a coach in the Fostoria school system before returning to Bluffton as a professor of history in 1964. He earned his Ph. D. from The Ohio State University in 1967 and that year moved on to the University of Toledo, where he has remained as a professor.
The author/editor of five books, Lora is a regular columnist in The Bluffton News and has dozens of conferences, published articles and book reviews to his credit. He has been on the Bluffton University Board of Trustees since 1987 and is active in many other organizations. The list of honors he has received in the academic world is lengthy.
