Ken Gorgal

from NewsTribune_IV Hall of Fame_092921

by Shaw Media

Ron Zagar

ST. BEDE ACADEMY

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Accomplishments

• A three-sport athlete at

SBA, Gorgal played college football at Purdue, where he was a QB, DB and punter; also played CF on the Purdue baseball team • In 1948, he set a Purdue football record that stood for more than 50 years by amassing 138 return yards in a game • Selected by the Cleveland

Browns in the sixth round of the 1950 NFL Draft as a

DB; Played in the NFL for the

Browns, Bears and Packers but took a two-year stint in the U.S. Army during the

Korean War • Two-time NFL Champion (1950 and 1954 with the

Browns) and First Team

All-Pro selection in 1953

By Brandon LaChance

Specializing in a single sport or activities with the same movements was not the norm in the 1940s. St. Bede graduate Ken Gorgal excelled in every athletic aspect offered to him including football, basketball and baseball. This was just the beginning of Gorgal (1929-2016) creating a NOW WHERE are they resume undeniable for the NewsTribune’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame.

“It means a lot to us. His roots being in Peru and from St. Bede – he loved St. Bede – coming out of the small town and what it did and provided to him means a lot,” said Mark Gorgal, who was Ken Gorgal’s third child after twins Diane and Denise, and before Renee. “To get this kind of recognition and this honor locally in your hometown area is really something special for him and for us.

“We took him to St. Bede before he passed in 2016 and Diane and I went back in 2019. The love, commitment and endearment the community brought to

FROM PAGE 17 him as a young man helped develop him into the man he was. It meant a lot to him. In all honesty, I think it meant more to him than the Purdue University and NFL accomplishments.”

After leaving Peru, he played football at Purdue as a quarterback, defensive back and punter while also playing center field for the Boilermakers’ baseball team.

In 1948, Gorgal racked up 138-interception return yards in a game, which stood as the school record for 50 years.

“He would always joke with people and make the All-American stance,” Mark Gorgal said. “He was very proud of the record.”

Playing both sports in college was fun, but he was forced to make a choice upon graduation.

Was he going to move on to the MLB or NFL?

“His first love was baseball. He was actually better in baseball than football and was signed out of Purdue to a Double-A contract in Texas,” Mark Gorgal said. “But back in the day, baseball was the game in the 1950s with Joe DiMaggio and all those guys. Football, the pros, was still a part-time job back then. It was tougher to get into pro baseball, but he was really good and he liked it.

“He had a chance to play Double-A in Dallas or play football because he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns. He would make less money with the Browns, but it was a solid gig and he would get some work. He took the job with the Browns, but he was that good in baseball.”

The Browns drafted the St. Bede and Purdue graduate in the sixth round of the 1950 draft as a defensive back.

His rookie season didn’t disappoint as Cleveland won the NFL Championship in 1950.

After a two-year stint in the Korean War, Ken Gorgal came back to the Browns in 1953 to play well enough for a First-Team All-Pro selection and helped win another championship in 1954.

“Back in the day, they worked regular jobs also because they didn’t make enough money,” Mark Gorgal said. “The highest paid athlete at the time was Otto Graham (the Browns quarterback) and he made $6 thousand a year. My dad sold insurance. Guys were selling cars. It’s not like today where they sign for $200 million. The league was still in it’s infancy and were not filling stadiums back in the 1950s.

“My dad would tell me stories about how him and other players would go out, party and then come and play a game the next day. Those guys were tough and just loved playing the game. In 2014, the Browns celebrated the anniversary of the championships in 1954 and 1964. Jim Brown was there and the camaraderie between all of the players was amazing – a real treat to witness.”

Gorgal played for two more teams before retiring as he was with the Chicago Bears (1955-56) and the Green Bay Packers (1956).

The funny thing is, Ken Gorgal didn’t really talk about his playing days once he retired.

“We used to hear stories about our grandfather, our dad’s dad, being the athlete. He played in the pre-pro NFL against George Halas and Bronko Nagurski in the 1920s,” Mark Gorgal said. “My dad would talk about his dad more than himself because of the guys he played against.

“There was a lot of football in the family. I got the gene too and played at Purdue also. My dad was an only child and he would say he was his parents’ favorite child.”

Although Gorgal befriended many athletes during his years with St. Bede, Purdue and in the NFL, a few of his dearest friends were reporters as he appreciated the interaction between sports and the written word telling the story.

Whether he was playing sports, reading or choosing friends, there were no specializations.