Best CFL squads ever

[JohnH19]

Ah.

[Retro Rider]

The 1960 Winnipeg Blue Bombers actually lost the best of three Western Final 2 games to 1. As Retro Rider said, Kenny Ploen's broken hand was mostly to blame as this was indeed Bud Grant's best team. Had the Big Blue gotten by Edmonton and then Ottawa in the Grey Cup game, it could have been five in a row as Winnipeg was the league champion in 1958, 59, 61 and 62.

Winnipeg had a whopping 306 yards rushing compared with Edmonton's 68 in Game 3. Ken Ploen threw only 9 times during the game for 42 yards. Since Ploen was dealing with a broken bone in his throwing hand, maybe Grant should have used back-up QB Vern Cole (a rookie) if he was just trying to use up the clock (Cole did get playing time in Game 1)? Too bad they didn't have Jim Van Pelt in 1960. The 1958 Grey Cup MVP was having a monster season in 1959 with 31 td passes, but was lost for the year with an injury. Van Pelt was then drafted by the U.S. Air Force and never played pro football again:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2 ... 2997,52037

[JohnH19]

Jim Van Pelt is a classic "what might have been" story. He became the starting QB in Winnipeg when Kenny Ploen was injured in 1958, a year after Ploen led the Blue Bombers to a Grey Cup appearance and was selected as the West's all-star QB in his rookie season.

Van Pelt, who also served as the Winnipeg place kicker, scored 22 points in the 35-28 defeat of Hamilton in the 1958 Grey Cup classic, a game that was widely considered the best in league history for decades. He followed that up with the monster 1959 season mentioned by Retro Rider; 160-300 for 2,706 yards with 31 TD passes and only 15 Ints. Van Pelt suffered a separated shoulder late in the season and Ploen, who made the 1959 all-star team as a DB with 10 interceptions, took over as QB and led the Bombers to another Grey Cup win over Hamilton.

Van Pelt was drafted into the U.S. Air Force in the summer of 1960 and never played again. Luckily, the Big Blue still had the great Kenny Ploen on hand so the team didn't skip a beat.

[rhickok1109]

Jim Van Pelt is a classic "what might have been" story. He became the starting QB in Winnipeg when Kenny Ploen was injured in 1958, a year after Ploen led the Blue Bombers to a Grey Cup appearance and was selected as the West's all-star QB in his rookie season.

Van Pelt, who also served as the Winnipeg place kicker, scored 22 points in the 35-28 defeat of Hamilton in the 1958 Grey Cup classic, a game that was widely considered the best in league history for decades. He followed that up with the monster 1959 season mentioned by Retro Rider; 160-300 for 2,706 yards with 31 TD passes and only 15 Ints. Van Pelt suffered a separated shoulder late in the season and Ploen, who made the 1959 all-star team as a DB with 10 interceptions, took over as QB and led the Bombers to another Grey Cup win over Hamilton.

Van Pelt was drafted into the U.S. Air Force in the summer of 1960 and never played again. Luckily, the Big Blue still had the great Kenny Ploen on hand so the team didn't skip a beat.

Is he related to (perhaps the father of) Alex Van Pelt, the Packers' QB coach?

[JohnH19]

I can't find a family connection.

[BD Sullivan]

I can't find a family connection.

What about Brad Van Pelt?

[JohnH19]

I can't find a family connection.

What about Brad Van Pelt?

Nope...and not even former Blue Bomber running back, Amos Van Pelt, who played for the team in 1969 and 70.