The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are saying goodbye to two iconic players from the club’s history this week.
Hours after the announcement Tuesday that quarterback Ken Ploen had died at 88 came the news that his teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Gerry James had passed away at 89.
James, who attended Kelvin High School in Winnipeg, was a member of four championship Bombers teams in 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962. He was also the inaugural winner of the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian Player award in 1954, winning it again three years later.
He also pulled off the unusual feat of excelling in multiple sports — playing professional football in the CFL and for the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs, setting the likely unbeatable record as the only player to suit up for both Grey Cup and Stanley Cup championship games in the same season.
Get daily Winnipeg news
James’ name is all over the Bombers’ record books, holding the marks for most touchdowns and most rushing touchdowns (since beaten by Milt Stegall and Mike Pringle, respectively, in the early 2000s) and he ranks fourth all-time for career touchdowns in a Winnipeg uniform.
Current Bombers president Wade Miller said it’s tough to lose two local legends in such a short period of time.
“It’s been a difficult couple of days for the Blue Bombers with the losses of Ken Ploen and Gerry James – two iconic figures in this franchise’s long and storied history,” Miller said.
“Gerry James was a two-sport star during his playing days and his skill, his grit and his toughness were trademarks of those legendary Bud Grant-coached teams of the late 1950s and early 1960s.”
Ploen and James were both members of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and recognized among the Bombers’ icons in the club’s own hall of fame.