Bonson started his career at
Wolverhampton Wanderers, working his way through their youth ranks including playing in the
1954 FA Youth Cup Final, losing to
Manchester United. He graduated to the first team and made his debut on 1 January 1957 in a 3–2 win at
Sunderland, the first of 11 consecutive starts during which he scored 6 goals. However, due to a wealth of striking talent at the club, he was deemed surplus to requirements and sold to
Cardiff City for £7,000 at the end of the season. He joined the Bluebirds as a replacement for
Johnny Nicholls, who had left the club to join
Exeter City and made a goalscoring debut for the club in a 1–1 draw with
Ipswich Town in November 1957. He finished the season with 12 goals in a total of 25 appearances. During his time at Cardiff he formed two formidable strike partnerships with two
Wales internationals, first with
Ron Hewitt and then with
Derek Tapscott, after he joined the club from
Arsenal. Bonsons's most prolific year came in the
1958–59 season when he scored 18 times for the club. At the end of the season he was transferred to
Scunthorpe United in exchange for
Peter Donnelly. Bonson went on to spend the rest of his career playing in the lower leagues of English football with spells at
Doncaster Rovers,
Newport County,
Brentford and
Lincoln City. He died in 1991. ==References==