Ken Bowman

 One of the unsung heroes of the NFL. Ken Bowman was an 8th round pick out of the  University of Wisconsin in 1964.  Considered one of most under-rated players in Green Bay Packers History he was thrust into the starting line-up as a rookie when veteran center Jim Ringo was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. Pat Peppler, the Packers Director of Personal remarked he must have done a pretty good job because he never remembers Vince Lombardi ever yelling at him during the head coach’s film sessions. Very undersized at but 230 pounds he was remembered as one of the toughest most hardest working players they’d ever known. His performance against 6′ 7″ 275-pound Hall of Famer Buck Buchanan in Super Bowl I actually drew praise from Lombardi. The significance of it was he was originally benched with a bad shoulder and was called upon when starter Bill Curry sprained his ankle. He played a total of 10 seasons, starting a total of 107 games including 6 post-season appearances.

 One play that will forever be remembered by Packer fans was Ken Bowman’s double-team block (along with guard Jerry Kramer) on Cowboys defensive tackle Jethro Pugh in the NFL Championship game of 1967. Starr’s 1-yard NFL title clinching touchdown plunge led to the Packer’s third consecutive NFL title and their second Super Bowl appearance. He was placed on injured reserve in 1974 but joined the Honolulu Hawaiians of the World Football League in 1975 for 1 last season of football.