Townies who made their mark

TOLONO – From athletes to entertainers to entrepreneurs, Tolono has produced some noteworthy success stories in its first 150 years. Here are a few:

Athletes

Current NBA player Brian Cardinal, 29, is a Tolono product and the son of former University of Illinois athletic trainer Rod Cardinal.

During his college career at Purdue University, he earned the nickname "Citizen Pain" because of his penchant for floor burns. The News-Gazette's Fred Kroner wrote a book about his Unity High and college basketball career called "Brian Cardinal: Citizen Pain."

After college, he played for the Detroit Pistons, the Washington Wizards, the Golden State Warriors. In 2004, Cardinal signed a multiyear, multimillion-dollar contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, and helped the Grizzlies reach the NBA playoffs.

Teammate Jerome Williams gave him the nickname "The Janitor" for his scrappy play. Some also say that the nickname came about for his willingness to do the "dirty work" and for the way he "cleaned up the floor" by diving for loose balls.

Other successful Unity hoopsters are the late Robert "Bud" Riegel, who lettered at the UI in basketball and track. He was captain of the 1936-37 basketball team.

Fred "Bud" Budinger, a 1963 Unity grad, played basketball and later coached at the Air Force Academy.

Ding Tays, whose real name was James, led the 1916 Tolono High School six-man football team through a victorious season and then went on to play college football at Kendall College and University of Pennsylvania. He played pro football for the Chicago Cardinals.

John "Rocky" Ryan was a three-year letterman on the UI football team in the '50s. He played in the Rose Bowl and went on to a career with the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears.

Don Grothe, a 1952 Unity grad, also was a three-year letterman on UI football team, playing two years under legendary coach Ray Eliot.

And Sam Leeper, a football, basketball and track star at Unity, went to the UI and lettered as a member of Harry Combes' 1963 Big Ten championship team.

Entertainers

Comedian Mark Roberts lived in Tolono until junior high, graduated from Urbana High and got his start in comedy at the long-defunct Chicago Club in Campustown.

Roberts was a prolific actor during the 1990s, appearing in 18 movies and television series, including "For the Boys," "Intersection," "Bulletproof," "The Naked Truth," "Seinfeld" and "Friends." He is currently a writer and producer for "Two and a Half Men," which stars Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer. It's ranked sixth in the Nielsen ratings.

Roberts wrote "Welcome to Tolono," a darkly comedic play that premiered to sold-out crowds at the Station Theatre in Urbana. He recently spent three weeks in Tolono filming an independent movie version of the play and plans to release it within 18 months.

Actor Eden Nicholas played a prisoner in the 1945 movie "First Yank into Tokyo" and a soldier in the 1945 film "The Enchanted Cottage," which was nominated for an Oscar. In later years he was the University of Illinois Division of Vocational Rehabilitation coordinator.

Nicholas lived in the Georgian style house Tolono mayor Laban C. Burr built in 1872 at 319 N. Vorcey St. from 1966 until his death in 2003.

Entrepreneurs

Ralph Monical graduated from Unity in 1952. Upon graduation, Monical attended the UI for two years before serving in the Army from 1954 to '56.

While in the Army, he received his data processing degree and after returning to civilian life he worked in that field for Clifford and Jacobs and an insurance firm.

In 1959, Monical entered the pizza business part time. By 1965, the business was so successful that Monical devoted all his time to it and established Monical's Pizza.

The business grew to include 26 restaurants, and the chain was sold in 1982. Monical continued to explore creative methods for making pizza and in 2002, he developed a process, currently used by Stouffers, for microwavable frozen pizzas.

In 1999, Monical re-entered the restaurant business and now owns Roma Ralph's Pizza in LeRoy and Zelma's Restaurant in Champaign.

Monical and his wife, Alicia, raised four children: Doug, Steve, Selena and Brodie. The Monicals still live in Tolono.