Kenneth Robert Gorgal was an American football safety who played in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, and the Green Bay Packers in the 1950s.
26 Facts About Ken Gorgal
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Ken Gorgal then went to Purdue, playing as a quarterback and punt returner under head coach Stu Holcomb.
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Ken Gorgal set a school record that stood for more than 50 years in 1948 by amassing 138 return yards in a single game.
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Ken Gorgal then left the team for a two-year stint in the US Army during the Korean War, returning in 1953.
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Ken Gorgal was on a Browns squad that won another NFL championship in 1954, but head coach Paul Brown traded him to the Bears after the season.
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Ken Gorgal played in Chicago in 1955, but a conflict with owner and coach George Halas, led to his release halfway through the following season.
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Ken Gorgal then left football and settled in suburban Chicago, where he sold insurance.
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Ken Gorgal grew up in Peru, Illinois and attended the town's St Bede Academy, a private Catholic high school.
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Ken Gorgal was a strong athlete, and lettered in track and field, baseball and football at St Bede.
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Ken Gorgal played as a quarterback and defensive back on the football team.
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Ken Gorgal played quarterback, defensive back and returned punts for the school's football team.
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Ken Gorgal set a Purdue Boilermakers football record in 1948 by amassing 138 return yards in a game against Pittsburgh.
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Ken Gorgal accounted for most of Purdue's passing the following year in an upset victory against Minnesota, prompting Holcomb to say he had "a perfect game in directing the team on the field".
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Ken Gorgal was a center fielder on the Purdue baseball team.
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Ken Gorgal was selected by the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League in the sixth round of the 1950 draft.
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Ken Gorgal was given a $5,900-a-year contract with a $200 bonus and made Cleveland's roster as a starter in his rookie year, supplanting long-time safety Cliff Lewis.
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Ken Gorgal left the Browns after the season to serve in the US Army during the Korean War.
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Ken Gorgal was stationed back home in Peru and ran background checks for the Army's Counterintelligence Corps.
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Ken Gorgal was discharged and returned to the Browns in 1953, helping bolster a defensive backfield that had been depleted by players' military service and Lewis's retirement.
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Ken Gorgal had four interceptions during the regular season and two in the title game.
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Ken Gorgal was injured and missed the latter half of the season; he had just one interception, although he returned it 53 yards for the only touchdown of his career.
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Ken Gorgal later criticized the trade, saying Brown dumped him because of his injury.
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Ken Gorgal, who grew up rooting for the Bears, had six interceptions in 1955, when the team finished second in the NFL West division.
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Ken Gorgal came into conflict with Bears coach and owner George Halas over his role as a leader on the team and he was released on waivers halfway through the 1956 season.
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Ken Gorgal considered Green Bay a lower-tier team and remained frustrated with his acrimonious departure from Chicago, and decided to quit football rather than play another year with the Packers.
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Ken Gorgal later held a seat on the Chicago Board of Trade, a major futures exchange.