Jim Van Pelt joined the Bombers in 1958, just in time to become a Grey Cup hero.  Actually, when he arrived, the Bombers had a #1 QB in Kenny Ploen, but Ploen went down with an injury and Van Pelt took over.  Besides playhing QB, Van Pelt also did the placekicking for the Bombers.  Van Pelt had 65 points during the regular season and then set a Grey Cup record with 22 points on two touchdowns, two fieldgoals and four converts.  One of the touchdowns scored by Van Pelt came on a trick play when he pitched the ball to halfback Leo Lewis and then took a pass from Lewis to run untouched 29 yards into the Hamilton endzone.  Van Pelt's second TD came ona one yard run in the fourth quarter to give Winnipeg the lead as they beat Hamilton 35-28.  In 1959, Van Pelt was the Bomber's regular QB even though Ploen was healthy and Van Pelt had a great season , completing 53.3% of his 300 pass attempts for 2706 yards and 31 touchdown passes. For his efforts in 1959, Van Pelt was named the West All-Star Quarterback (there were no CFL All-Stars until 1962).  The Bombers went on to win the Grey Cup again in 1959, though it was Ploen who did the quarterbacking in the final.  That was the end of Van Pelt's CFL career.  He returned to the states and spent three years in the Air Force.

A where are they now article on Jim Van Pelt