The passing of Blue Bomber legend Ken Ploen on Tuesday stirred memories of a hero of yesteryear and the glory days of Winnipeg professional football led by the Iowa native under coach Bud Grant.
As a star at quarterback and defensive back in 4 Bomber victories, and a solid ambassador for the city the rest of his life, he was part of our lives and a source of pride.
Families spoke of his time at Bomber QB as over 20 years passed by without a Grey Cup; and thus the legend was passed down through generations of Winnipeg kids. And his presence on CJOB football broadcasts kept his name familiar with fans of all ages. Listen to it here:
In Part 1 of this special episode, Marty Gold describes Ploen’s career, leadership, statistics that still rank high on all-time lists, and a couple of surprise career anomalies.
(Also mentioned among the Hall of Fame teammates of the era is fullback/placekicker Gerry James, who was an integral part of Ploen’s early success in the CFL. You’ll hear of a Wikipedia glitch about James that someone perhaps can correct.)
18.20 Part 2 – Marty tells a personal story about Kenny Ploen and a Grey Cup event in 1998 at the Winnipeg Press Club.
We have exclusive audio of Kenny speaking and with honouree Angelo Mosca! Hear the story behind how the event came to happen, other Winnipeggers who took part, and how Ploen became part of it.
It was one of the proudest accomplishments of Marty Gold’s career, bringing together the man in the Blue and Gold his dad loved to cheer with the ‘Big Nasty’ Tiger-Cat lineman he loved to boo.
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