Bradford Bomba Obituary

Dr. Bradford J. Bomba, age 89 of Bloomington, Indiana passed away peacefully and surrounded by love on May 8, 2025 at Hospice House.
Brad was born on December 15, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois to Joseph and Christine Bomba. He was their pride and joy as their only child. Brad was a standout athlete and graduate of Mt. Carmel High School, an all-boys Catholic high school on Chicago's eastside. He met the love of his life, Rita Bomba, during their parochial school days while he was playing football, and she was a cheerleader at Loretto Academy several blocks away. They maintained a long-distance relationship throughout college while Rita attended Michigan State University and Brad came to Bloomington to play football at Indiana University. They were married on July 2, 1960 and were happily married for 56 years until Rita passed away in June 2016.
At Indiana University, Brad was one of the first great tight ends in the history of Indiana football. Bomba was the first IU Football player to earn Academic All-America honors and holds the unique distinction as being the only football player in IU history to earn both All-America and Academic All-America honors during his senior season. He received the Balfour Award for bringing honor to IU in the sport of football. He was invited to compete in several post-season games after finishing his time as a Hoosier – Bomba played in the Senior Bowl, the East-West Shrine Game and the College All-Star Game. Football was not his only focus as an undergraduate at Indiana – he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, Board of Aeons, Student Athletic Board Director and a rider for his residence hall in the Little 500.
Bomba was drafted by the Washington Redskins as the 177th pick in the 15th round of the 1957 NFL draft. After playing in four pre-season games, he left the team to attend the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Following graduation and his residency, he returned to Bloomington to begin his life's work of providing skilled and compassionate medical care for others. He established his private practice in Bloomington as a general practitioner caring for patients of all ages. Always one to serve where needed, Brad also delivered babies early in his career due to a shortage of obstetricians in the area.
Brad proudly served his alma mater in countless ways. He was the Indiana University athletic physician for all varsity sports from 1963 to 1969 including the 1967 Rose Bowl team. He then served as the men's basketball team physician for two decades including three national championship teams in 1976, 1981 and 1987 for his close friend, Coach Bob Knight. Brad also served as the team physician for the 1984 U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball team. Upon retiring from his practice, he continued to serve the Bloomington community as a volunteer physician at a community clinic.
Brad was inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame, Indiana Football Hall of Fame, Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame and Mt. Carmel High School Hall of Fame. He gratefully received honors and awards for his service and dedication to others but nothing made him prouder than his children and grandchildren. Brad will be deeply missed by his children - Brad Jr. (Angee), Elizabeth, Joseph (Jennifer), Chris (Wendy), Matt (Kelly), Eric (Angie). His twelve grandchildren - Trey, Tori, Tyce, Madeline, Joey, Lindsey, Cydney, Christopher, James, Mason, Harrison and Aidan will dearly miss all of the love showered upon them by their Grandpa. He was preceded in death by his best friend and lovely wife Rita; their infant daughter, Angela; his parents, Joseph and Christine Bomba; his parents-in-law, Peter and Angela Walther and his sister-in-law, Patricia Mason and brother-in-law, James Mason.
His family would like to sincerely thank the amazing caregivers who supported, loved and cared for him over the past few years.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 2222 East Third Street, Bloomington, Indiana. Visitation will be on Tuesday May 13, 2025 from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Allen Funeral Home and Crematory 4155 S. Old State Road 37, Bloomington, Indiana.
In lieu of flowers, if you would like to honor Brad's loving kindness, please do so by making a charitable donation to either the Monroe County Youth Football Association, P.O. Box 2222, Bloomington, IN 47402, https://register.ryzer.com/camp.cfm?id=297357 or the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington, P.O. Box 1716, Bloomington, IN 47402. https://bgcbloomington.org/donate/
Online condolences, photos and memories may be shared with family and friends at www.allencares.com