"Of basketball he dreams and eats..."
—Herbert Bonn yearbook statement

Herb Bonn loved basketball. Born in Aliquippa, PA, on January 14, 1916, Herb's family moved to Midland, where he attended grade school. His family later moved to Squirrel Hill, where his parents opened Bonn's Hardware Store on Murray Avenue in the 1930s. Herb attended the Pittsburgh Public Schools, graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School, and from 1934 to 1937 attended Duquesne University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in education.

At Duquesne, Herb was a three-year starting forward and in 1935 helped lead the Dukes to an 18-1 record. During that time, the Dukes were considered one of the top ten teams in the country. In 1936, Herb led the team to a record 14-3 season and was named first-team All-American by College Humor Magazine.

After playing semi-pro ball, Herb joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National Basketball League (NBL) for two seasons. Herb's rookie pro season and the first season of the NBL's existence was 1937-38, when Herb led the Pirates in scoring with 7.2 points per game. In the 1938-39 season, Herb played with Beaver County Sports Hall of Famers  Hymie Ginsburg and Jack Stirling. In his 15 games in the NBL, Herb averaged 5.7 points per game. All his home games were played in the Duquesne University gymnasium.

For many years, Duquesne University annually remembered Herb in an award to a senior basketball player with outstanding athletic, academic, and fellowship qualities. In 1965, Herb was inducted into the Duquesne Athletics Sports Hall of Fame. In 2016, Herb was named to Duquesne University's men's basketball All-Century team and was honored at halftime of a Duquesne basketball game on December 14.

In 1941, Herb enlisted in the Navy Reserves and trained to be a pilot. After the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941, Herb saw action as a fighter pilot in the South Pacific. On April 7, 1943, Herb and eight other crew members took off on a night mission from Kaneohe Airfield on Oahu, HI. They never returned from that patrol, and all nine were declared missing in action. The Navy lists Herbert Bonn's official date of death as April 7, 1943.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Herbert Sidney Bonn was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and is remembered at the Tablets of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial in Honolulu, HI.