The 'Chief': Louisville man kept official Final Four stats for decades
Al Benninger served as University of Louisville basketball's chief statistician for five decades. The longtime Cardinals fan died in 2025.
The Xerox boxes stacked in the closet contain thousands and thousands of sheets of paper. Lift the lid and pull out a piece. A college basketball fan can instantly see a University of Louisville game in 1972 ...
Or the 1993 Final Four when Kentucky small forward Jamal Mashburn's 26 points and six rebounds almost defeated Michigan's Fab Five ... Or how about Villanova's 1985 upset of Georgetown? They're all right there in the Louisville condo of a guy most people still refer to as "Chief.
" That chief is Al Benninger, who watched every single play of those games, live. Benninger — a native of Louisville, born in 1926, graduate of St. Xavier High and then UofL in 1957, as well as veteran of the Navy in World War II, before spending a day-career in life insurance and a nights-and-weekends career in sports statistics — passed away August 3, 2025.
He was 99. His only child, Glenn, has spent the last eight months cleaning out the madness of Marches past. "When I look back on all the sports history he got involved with, it is amazing," Glenn said.
Continue to the original source for the full article.