Fans name Ken Ploen best Blue Bombers quarterback

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This article was published 19/09/2014 (4092 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Ken Ploen remains the undisputed quarterback legend among Blue Bomber fans.

The voting is in and Ploen has been chosen the top quarterback in Blue Bombers history by readers of the Free Press and listeners of TSN1290.

“I’m very honoured to hear this,” said Ploen, reached by phone at his Winnipeg home on Friday afternoon. “I’ve heard a little about his. There have been some pretty great quarterbacks to play for the Bombers over the years and for the fans to choose me, well, that’s quite an honour. This is very nice.”

Voting began Monday and fans were given the choice of five quarterbacks as chosen by the All-Time Blue Bombers Team panel including legendary coach Bud Grant, former player and GM Paul Robson, Hall of Fame football writer Ed Tait, Andrew “Hustler” Paterson from TSN 1290 and myself.

Voters chose Ploen as the All-Time Bombers Team quarterback with Dieter Brock finishing second and then Tom Clements, Jack Jacobs and Khari Jones in descending order.

“I’ll tell you, I had a pretty good gang around me in those years. We had good football teams and won a lot of games,” said Ploen. “That was truly the best accomplishment. Winning games.”

Ploen was born in Lost Nation, Iowa in 1935 and was a major U.S. college football star before coming to Winnipeg and the CFL.

The 5’10”, 180 pound quarterback led the University of Iowa Hawkeyes to victory in the 1957 Rose Bowl and was named the game’s MVP. Ploen was an All-American that year and named the Big Ten player of the year.

Grant convinced Ploen to join the Bombers and one of the most successful runs in club history soon began to unfold. In all, Ploen was part of six trips to the Grey Cup for the Bombers claiming victory in the title game four times.

Ploen’s 18-yard dash to the endzone in overtime of the 1961 Grey Cup is considered one of the greatest plays in Blue Bombers history.

Ploen was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1975, the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1987, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1997, and the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.

When his career ended, Ploen stayed in Winnipeg and raised his family here.

“We all worked while we were playing football and I had a pretty good job,” said Ploen. “When my career was over, well, I hadn’t been back to the U.S. in such a long time, there was really nothing there for me. But I was able to work in Winnipeg and our family grew up here. Winnipeg is what I call home.”

The Free Press print and digital editions as well as www.tsn1290.ca will run stories on Monday outlining the careers of the finalists selected by our panel. You can vote here.

Vote a maximum of once per day and help choose the Blue Bombers player you consider the best at the following positions to be presented in this order: Quarterback, offensive lineman, linebacker, kicker, kick returner, running back, defensive lineman, defensive back and receiver.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @garylawless