Ken Ploen - 1960s Player of the Decade

We now know why they delayed the announcement of the winner of the player of the decade for the 1960s voting. There will be a ceremony during the pregame of tonight’s Hall of Fame Game in Winnipeg.

FANS NAME KEN PLOEN AS CFL MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER OF THE 1960s

September 26, 2009

“On behalf of our fans, I want to congratulate Kenny Ploen on an unique and special honour,? said CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon.

“Good players are respected by those who watch them play. Great players are remembered by those who saw them play. And the very best players are even revered by those who never saw them play. And this tribute establishes Kenny Pleon as one of our very best, in the eyes of more than one generation of CFL fans.?

Ploen will be honoured in front of his hometown fans during the pre-game ceremony of Saturday’s game between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Argonauts at Canad Inns Stadium.

“I want to thank all the CFL fans who voted, and especially everyone here in Manitoba, for this privilege,? Ploen said.

“It has been an honour to be mentioned in the same breath with so many great players, including a fellow quarterback, Russ Jackson, the eastern nominee. The game gave me so much, including my start in Canada, which led to so many good friends and, of course, my wonderful family. To think that it is still giving me thrills after all these years – and this really is a thrill – is really something.?

Fan balloting for the Most Outstanding Player of the 1960s has been part of this year’s CFL Retro Celebration of one of the greatest decades in our league’s history. Fans were asked to vote online at CFL.ca on each team’s top player of the decade, then the top player for the East and West Division, and finally the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player of the 1960s.

Ploen came to Winnipeg fresh from leading the University of Iowa to a victory in the granddaddy of all U.S. college football games – the Rose Bowl. From 1957-1967, he led the Blue Bombers to six Grey Cup appearances, including four victories (1958, 1959, 1961, 1962). During his career, he completed 1,084 passes for 16,470 yards and 119 touchdowns. He was named a CFL All-Star in 1965 and was a three-time West Division All-Star at quarterback (1957, 1965) and defensive back (1959).

The MOP of the 1960s stayed in Winnipeg following his football career, working as a sales representative and football commentator, and is a member of the Order of Manitoba.

He’s remembered by CFL fans as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, and one of those imports who found something bigger than stardom: a home.


Congratulations Mr. Ploen.

....As a fan of the very successful years when Ploen quarterbacked the Bombers..and fortunate enough to see him play and win a few Cups....CONGRATULATIONS...VERY DESERVING....He was one of the cleverest and naturally gifted athletes i ever watched play... Quiet...no-nonsense type...I can recall some of the games when the BigBlue needed something special to win ...and he just went about his business...carved up the oppostion defence and delivered..He was very durable....in fact i can't recall him ever getting seriously injured...He still lives in Winnipeg and the last time i saw him he looked like he could still suit-up....Man could the Bombers ever use a player of his talents today... :rockin: :thup: :thup:You were one of the very best ,Kenny, this league has seen..... :thup:

Great news!!!!! :rockin:

It's odd how seldom Kenny Ploen's name has come up over the years when the subject is "greatest players of all time." Maybe it's because there's no ingrained package of highlight reel plays from KP, or maybe it's because he never really had the god-like physical qualities of some of the others: he wasn't particularly big, strong, or blessed with a cannon arm. All he ever did was go out and win.

Just wanted to add, Kenny Ploen was my biggest childhood sports hero, so I can't help but be glad about this. No slight to Russ Jackson who is also one for the ages...it's actually quite a tribute to him that he won the Eastern poll with no active Ottawa team to produce a fan base of support. But the Bomber teams of '57 to '65 left some terrific memories, and Ploen did set the standard. Kudos to him.

Ploen was a great QB and gentleman but I think Russ Jackson got the shaft. He won more Grey Cups with the Ottawa Riders than Ploen did. Not to diminish the great career Ploen had but check the records folks Jackson won more cups than Ploen therefore deserves the award in my books. Hard for me to say too because he beat my prairie Riders a few times too!!! :cowboy:

Great choice.

It absolutely was the choice to make. Great to see him there too. He looked good!

Aaaarrrrgggghhhhh....

Ploen was a great player... no doubt. I'd compare him with Bernie Faloney. He's a treasured memory in Hamilton.

But Jackson and Lancaster made the decade. My take.

Russ Jackson was Canadian and was the player of the decade of the 1960's. Four Grey Cup games 1960, 1966, 1968, 1969. 3 out of 4 Grey Cup wins. Had it not been for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Bernie Faloney, Jackson would've won more than 3 during the 1960's. Furthermore, there are more active Blue Bomber fans that voted than Ottawa fans clear and simple. My apologies to Mr. Ploen, but I had to say it !

BRING BACK THE OTTAWA ROUGH RIDERS WITH THE BIG WHITE R ON THE HELMET.

...Never saw Jackson play db. like Ploen was asked to do for the Bombers...never quibbled about it just went out and did it ..also did a credible job at the position...Kenny was a man of many talents on the field...Russ was a great qb. also...even tried coaching i believe but it was a disaster...As far as a pure player at the CFL game. Ploen had it all and had the edge over a lot of greats.... and he had the Cups to prove it...It wasn't just Bomber fans voting in any case....Everyone had a shot....Seems that more fans seen Ploen as the best..... :wink: :thup:

Congrat's to Ken Ploen..As a BB fan yes I did vote for him but it wasnt because he was a Bomber,never saw either Ploen or Jackson play.If this was for QB of the 60's my votes would have gone to Russ without question,but as far as overall player of the 60's I had to go with Ploen because he did a great job playing QB/halfback and safety from my understanding.I think Russ started as a DB then spent his entire career as a QB in the CFL.If he was on the field for the entire game,I wouldnt have voted for a Bomber but gone with Jackson cause he would have been more deserving I think.It's easy for us who dont know the era to just look at stats and go Huh?why Kenny?But it was a different time in the 60's and one has to look at other things sometimes.And if Russ had won (He's still a winner) I would have had no problems with that either,I wouldnt mind having any one of these guys playing for my team team anyday :slight_smile:

Technically speaking, both have the same record for Grey Cups during the 60’s(Technically because although Ottawa won the 1960 Grey Cup, 1960 is technically the last year of the 50’s decade not the first year of the 60’s). Ploen in his career had one more Grey Cup win and one more Grey Cup appearance than jackson.

This all being said, either player would have been a great choice

[/quote]
Technically speaking, both have the same record for Grey Cups during the 60's(Technically because although Ottawa won the 1960 Grey Cup, 1960 is technically the last year of the 50's decade not the first year of the 60's). Ploen in his career had one more Grey Cup win and one more Grey Cup appearance than jackson.

This all being said, either player would have been a great choice
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So technically speaking, Confederation was in 1866 not July 1, 1867, the United States constitution was signed in 1775 not July 4, 1776 ???????????

Technically speaking, both have the same record for Grey Cups during the 60’s(Technically because although Ottawa won the 1960 Grey Cup, 1960 is technically the last year of the 50’s decade not the first year of the 60’s). Ploen in his career had one more Grey Cup win and one more Grey Cup appearance than jackson.

This all being said, either player would have been a great choice
[/quote]
So technically speaking, Confederation was in 1866 not July 1, 1867, the United States constitution was signed in 1775 not July 4, 1776 ???
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No, we went through this with y2k, because there was no year 0 AD. the first decade began Jan. 1, 0001 and ended Dec 31 0010, a decade being ten years. Therefore, officially every decade following has the same format, so the decade of the 60’s began on Jan. 1 1961 and ended Dec. 31, 1970. You can look it up. It’s really quite simple.