George Lambert Kraemer (June 2, 1894 – September 22, 1974), sometimes listed as George Kramer, was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player. He played professional football as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for the

Minneapolis Marines The Minneapolis Marines were an early professional football team that existed from 1905 until 1924. The team was later resurrected from 1929 to 1930 under the Minneapolis Red Jackets name. The Marines were owned locally by Minneapolitans John Dunn ...

from 1916 to 1924. He also served for many years with the Minneapolis Fire and Police Departments.

Early years

Kraemer was born in 1894 in either

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the cit ...

, or

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Professional football

Kraemer played professional football for the

in 1916 prior to the formation of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). When the NFL was formed, the Marines were included, and Kraemer continued with the club in its NFL years from 1921 to 1924. He played primarily as a guard, but also as a tackle and back. He appeared in 19 NFL games, 10 as a starter. He also played in 1926 for the Twin City All-Stars, at which time the ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' wrote that he had "performed brilliantly on various professional football teams of local repute in the last few years at a guard position."

Fire/police career and later years

While playing football, Kraemer held jobs initially with the Minneapolis Fire Department stating in 1917, then transferring to the Minneapolis Police Department in 1923. While serving with the police department, Kraemer received eight commmendations and killed three men in the line of duty. One of his commendaations was for arresting 97 vagrants in a two-day period. In 1931, he engaged in a gunfight with a prowler that put him on the front page of ''The Minneapolis Star''. In 1945, Kraemer left the police department and operated a bar in Minneapolis until 1950. Kraemer died of a heart attack in 1965 at age 68 at his home in Minneapolis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraemer, George 1894 births 1974 deaths People from Joliet, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois Minneapolis Marines players