In memoriam: Brockington, Bowman, Carter among Green Bay Packers who died in 2023

GREEN BAY – Several prominent former Green Bay Packers players died in 2023, including John Brockington and Ken Bowman.

In all, 12 former members of the Packers organization are known to have passed during the year, including executive board member Mark McMullen and John Gordon, designer of the Packers "G" logo.

Here is our in memoriam for those former Packers:

Mark McMullen

Mark McMullen, who was a director and Packers treasurer, died Feb. 1 at age 74 in Green Bay. McMullen, a retired executive vice chairman of Associated Bank, was the first chairman of the Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football Stadium District, which was formed by the state legislature to oversee the 2003 renovation and maintenance of Lambeau Field and manage the 0.5% Brown County sales tax that mostly paid for the work. He joined the Packers board of directors in 2007 and was named treasurer and executive committee member in 2010. McMullen joined Associated Bank in 1981 and led its trust department for many years.

John Brockington

John Brockington, Packers Hall of Fame running back, died March 31 at age 74 in San Diego. Brockington, who was raised in New York and attended Ohio State University, was the ninth overall pick in the 1971 NFL draft. He was the first NFL player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons, and was named Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the year in 1971. Brockington was a key player on the 1972 team that won the NFC Central Division, the only Packers team to win a title between Super Bowl II and 1995. Brockington played six years for the Packers, gaining 5,024 yards and scoring 32 touchdowns. He was afflicted by a number of health issues in his final years and was a kidney transplant recipient. He founded the John Brockington Foundation to assist organ transplant recipients.

Don McIlhenny

Don McIlhenny, who played three years for the Packers and scored the Dallas Cowboys' first-ever rushing touchdown, died April 18 at age 88 in Dallas. McIlhenny was a third-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions in 1956 and played for the Packers in 1957-59. He joined expansion team Dallas in 1960. McIhenny played college football at Southern Methodist University, where teammates included future pro football players Forrest Gregg, John Roach, Raymond Berry, Doyle Nix and Jerry Norton. Gregg, Roach and Nix all played at least one year with the Packers during their careers. McIlhenny is a member of the Metro Nashville Public Schools Sports Hall of Fame and was included by The Tennessean newspaper as one of the 50 greatest Nashville football players of all time. He suffered from Alzheimer's and dementia his final 10 years.

Jesse Kaye

Jesse Kaye, former scout for the Packers, died June 3 at age 79 in Green Bay. Kaye joined the Packers in May 1989 as a pro scout in player personnel and an administrative assistant to coach Lindy Infante. He was named director of a new pro scouting department by general manager Ron Wolf in 1992. Wolf replaced him two years later with Ted Thompson and Kaye was hired by the New York Jets as a college scout. In 2002, he was promoted to director of college scouting. Packers historian Cliff Christl writes that Kaye tried hard to sell the Jets on drafting University of Michigan quarterback Tom Brady, but the Jets passed on the opportunity. Kaye was with the Jets 20 years before retiring and returning to Green Bay. He was raised in Green Bay and was a graduate of Premontre High School, where he was an all-metro quarterback. He attended and played football at University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of Tampa, and played professional football in Canada and the United States. He scouted for BLESTO combine and the Pittsburgh Steelers before joining the Packers.

Leo J. Scherer

Leo J. Scherer, emeritus board member, died June 20 at age 87 in Green Bay. Scherer was a member of the Packers board of directors from 1992-2006. He was founder and owner of Scherer Steel Structures until his retirement in 2000. He was raised in Colorado and was a graduate of Marquette University, Milwaukee, with a degree in civil engineering. Scherer was involved in the community, serving as president of Boys and Girls Club of Greater Green Bay, announcer of the Notre Dame Academy girls basketball team for 20 years, and golf coach at Premontre High School. He took the boys' team to the state championship. Scherer was an avid golfer. He had Alzheimer's disease in his final years.

Ben Wilson

Ben Wilson, a fullback with the Packers in 1967, died July 23 at age 84 in Monticello, Ark. Wilson was the Packers' starting fullback for six games, after Jim Grabowski suffered a season-ending injury. He did not start in the playoff games, including the Ice Bowl, but started in Super Bowl II, where he was team's leading rusher, gaining 62 yards in 17 carries. He was the second-leading rusher for the season with 453 yards, and he caught 14 passes for another 88. A native of Houston, Wilson attended the University of Southern California. He was drafted in the fifth round, number 68 overall, in the 1962 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams. He played five years for the Rams before he was traded to the Packers before the 1967 season. After football, he was a McDonald's franchise owner in Houston, as well as owning other businesses. He also taught in the public school system.

Gary Barnes

Gary Barnes, a third-round draft pick in the 1962 NFL draft, died Aug. 15 at age 83 in Clemson, S.C. Barnes, a wide receiver and Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame member, was the 41st overall pick. He played his rookie year with the Packers, getting into 13 games but making no catches. He was traded to the Dallas Cowboys before the 1963 season. He also played for the Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons during his five-year career. Barnes played for three Hall of Fame coaches, Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry and George Halas, and he was the first player signed by the expansion Atlanta Falcons. He scored the Falcons' first ever touchdown. After football, Barnes worked for Chevron and in the textile industry, before becoming a municipal judge in Clemson. He was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame in 2002 and the state of South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005. He died after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

John Gordon

John Gordon, who designed the Packers iconic "G" logo, died Sept. 30 at age 83 in Green Bay. Gordon was an art student at St. Norbert College, De Pere, and part-time assistant equipment manager for the Packers when equipment manager Gerald "Dad" Braisher instructed him to design a football-shaped logo with a "G" inside, which coach Vince Lombardi wanted for the Packers' helmets. Gordon brought in the design the next day and it was immediately approved. It has been tweaked over the years, but is essentially Gordon's design. He taught art at Parkview Middle School in Ashwaubenon and was an adjunct professor of art at St. Norbert College. He had Alzheimer's disease in his final years.

Ronald Acks

Ronald Acks, who played for the Packers from 1974-76, died Nov. 21 at age 79 in Cornelius, N.C. Acks was drafted in the fifth round of the 1966 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings, who traded him to the Atlanta Falcons before the season. He played four years for the Falcons and two for the New England Patriots before the Packers acquired him. Acks played quarterback in high school in Carbondale, Ill., and running back and safety at the University of Illinois. He was a linebacker during this NFL career. He played 40 games for the Packers, including four starts. After football, he was a businessman.

Jim Carter

Jim Carter, who had the unenviable task of succeeding Ray Nitschke at middle linebacker, died Nov. 23 at age 75 in Minneapolis. Like Brockington, Carter was a member of the 1972 NFC Central championship team. Carter played linebacker for the Packers from 1970 to 1978, after starring at fullback for the University of Minnesota. He was drafted in the third round of the 1970 NFL draft, the 68th player taken. Carter was named second-team all-NFC middle linebacker by United Press International in 1972, behind Chicago Bears' Dick Butkus. In 1973, Carter was named to the Pro Bowl and was named the Packers' most valuable defensive player. Carter was a successful businessman and recovering alcoholic who said in 2022 that he hadn't had a drink in 40 years. He was committed to helping others who struggled with addiction. Packers quarterback Scott Hunter, who sometimes butted heads with Carter during their playing days, called him a great guy and teammate.

Carl Barzilauskas

Carl Barzilauskas, a defensive tackle who played for the Packers in 1978-79, died Dec. 20 at age 72 in Bloomington, Ind. Barzilauskas was selected by the New York Jets with the sixth overall pick in the 1974 NFL draft. He played four years for the Jets and made the NFL's all-rookie team in 1974. The Packers acquired Barzilauskas for draft choices. In 1978, he started 16 games and had four sacks. In 1979, he was bothered by knee problems and a nerve injury that affected his shoulder and neck. He was placed on injured reserve after five games and retired in 1980.

Ken Bowman

Ken Bowman, who played center for the Lombardi-era Packers, died Dec. 27 at age 81 in Oro Valley, Arizona. Bowman teamed with guard Jerry Kramer to deliver the block that allowed quarterback Bart Starr to score the winning touchdown in the 1967 NFL championship game, also known as the Ice Bowl. Bowman, who attended the University of Wisconsin on scholarship, was selected by the Packers in the eighth round of the 1964 NFL draft and spent 10 seasons with the team before ending his career with the Honolulu Hawaiians of the World Football League. Teammate Dave Robinson recalled that Bowman did not start in Super Bowl I because of an injured shoulder, but was called upon to play when starting center Bill Curry was injured. When his shoulder popped out of place during the game, he popped it right back in and kept playing. He was the Packers' starting center until his retirement after the 1973 season. He was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1981. Bowman was vice president of the NFL Players Association and on the negotiating committees in both 1970 and 1974. He attended law school during the offseason and graduated cum laude from Wisconsin in 1972. He started his law career in the late 1970s in De Pere. Bowman and his wife, Rosann, moved to Arizona in 1994, where he continued to practice law for a decade with the state public defender’s office in Tucson before finishing his career as special magistrate for Tucson, Oro Valley and Marana.

Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Brockington, Bowman, Carter among Packers who died in 2023