Bowman, the former Wisconsin standout, was selected in the eighth-round of the 1964 NFL Draft, succeeding Hall of Fame center Jim Ringo during his rookie campaign. He started 107 games over 10 seasons in Green Bay, winning five championships total (three NFL, two Super Bowl).
“I’ll tell you this, he was something else,” former Packers linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dave Robinson said, via the Green Bay Press Gazette. “They don’t make guys like Ken Bowman anymore. The guys now, they are pampered so much. When he and I played, it was mano a mano and you expected to stay in and slug it out.
“Kenny, the guys he had to fight, big defensive tackles. That’s who he had to block every game. Some of the biggest men on the football team are the guys he went up against, and he came up big. He was a center, and everything revolved around him.”
Ken Bowman remembered for role in ‘Ice Bowl’
Bowman was notably under center during the game-winning play of the 1967 NFL Championship Game, also known as the “Ice Bowl,” in which Bart Starr scored a touchdown on a quarterback sneak to secure a third consecutive title for the Packers. Bowman, along with right guard Jerry Kramer, combined on a wedge block against defensive tackle Jethro Pugh, paving the way for Starr to score with 13 ticks remaining.
“A big block that Jerry Kramer says he made,” Robinson said. “It was a double team between him and Kenny Bowman. Bo had a big hand in it.”
Bowman served as Green Bay’s player representative from 1969-1974. He also served as vice president of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) during the players’ strike that summer.
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