Ken Gorgal, American football player, Died at 87

  Sports

Kenneth Robert Gorgal was born on February 13, 1929, and died on May 8, 2016.

He was an American football safety player.

Gorgal played in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns, the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers in the 1950s.

Ken played college football at Purdue University.

He was raised up in Illinois, where he was a standout athlete in high school.

Ken Gorgal signed t Purdue playing as a quarterback and punt returner under head coach Stu Holcomb.

As a young player, Ken set a school record that stood for more than 50 years in 1948 by amassing 138 return yards in a single game.

He was selected by the Browns in the 1950 NFL draft.

Ken had six interceptions that season as Cleveland finished with a 10–2 win–loss record and beat the Los Angeles Rams to win the NFL championship.

Gorgal then left the team for a two-year stint in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, returning in 1953.

He was on a Browns squad, he won another NFL championship in 1954, but head coach Paul Brown traded him to the Bears after the season.

He was one of the players in Chicago in 1955, but a conflict with owner and coach George Halas, led to his release halfway through the following season.

Then the Packers claimed him on waivers, and he went on to play out the year in Green Bay.

Ken Gorgal then left football and settled in suburban Chicago, where he sold insurance.

Ken Gorgal passed away at 87 yrs old.