Jerry Kramer
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Gerald Louis Kramer (born January 23, 1936) is a former professional
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, author and sports commentator, best remembered for his 11-year
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) career with the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
as an offensive lineman. As a ,
right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gi ...
, Kramer was an integral part of the famous
Packers sweep The Packers sweep, also known as the Lombardi sweep, is an American football play popularized by Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi. The Packers sweep is based on the sweep, a football play that involves a back taking a handoff and running ...
, a signature play in which both guards rapidly pull out from their normal positions and lead block for the running back going around the end. Kramer was an
All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...
five times, and a member of the
National Football League 50th Anniversary All-Time Team The National Football League 50th Anniversary All-Time Team was selected in 1969 by Pro Football Hall of Fame voters from each franchise city of the National Football League (NFL) to honor the greatest players of the first 50 years of the league. ...
in . Before his election into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
in 2018 at age 82, Kramer was noted for being a finalist for the Hall ten times without being voted in. In 2008, he was rated No. 1 in
NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NFL ...
's Top 10 list of players not in the Hall. Kramer was inducted into the Hall of Fame on August 4, 2018. At his induction speech, he quoted something his high school coach had often told him: "You can if you will".


Early years

Born in eastern
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
in
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, Kramer moved with his parents and five siblings from northern
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
to northern
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
when he was in the fourth grade, settling in Sandpoint. After graduating from
Sandpoint High School Sandpoint High School is a four-year public secondary school in the northwest United States, located in Sandpoint, Idaho. It is the larger of the two high schools in the Lake Pend Oreille School District; the other is Clark Fork in Class 1A. ...
in 1954, he accepted a football scholarship to the
University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...
in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
to play for new head coach
Skip Stahley Jacob Neil "Skip" Stahley (September 22, 1908 – June 27, 1992)''The University of Idaho Magazine'', Oct 1992, Vol.10, No.4, p.20. was an American college football coach and athletic director. He served as the head football coach at the Universit ...
. In that era, Idaho was a member of the
Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (including a ...
, the forerunner of the
Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
. Kramer was a standout two-way player for the
Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...
, along with teammate (and road roommate) Wayne Walker of
Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...
, a future All-Pro linebacker with the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
. Following the
1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
season, both played on the winning side in the
East-West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...
in late December in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, and at the
College All-Star Game The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the C ...
in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
in mid-August, in which they defeated the defending NFL champion
Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...
. Kramer was also a starter for the winning North team in the
Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...
in January in
Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
. Kramer's number 64 was
retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
by the university in 1963, on his 27th birthday. (He wore #74 as a sophomore tackle in
1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
, and #57 on the freshman team in 1954.) While at UI, Kramer was a member of
Sigma Nu Sigma Nu () is an undergraduate Fraternities and sororities in North America, college fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute on January 1, 1869. The fraternity was founded by James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles and James McIlva ...
fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
, and also lettered in track and field ( discus and
shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
).


NFL career

Kramer was the 39th selection of the
1958 NFL Draft The 1958 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on December 2, 1957, and its final twenty-six rounds on January 28, 1958. Both sessions were held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. This was the 12th and final year in ...
, taken in the
fourth round Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
by the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
. Two other hall of famers for the Packers were taken in this draft: fullback Jim Taylor of
LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
in the second round (15th overall), and linebacker
Ray Nitschke Raymond Ernest Nitschke (December 29, 1936 – March 8, 1998) was a professional American football middle linebacker who spent his entire 15-year National Football League (NFL) career with the in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in , he was the a ...
of
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
in the third round (36th overall). Kramer played every game in his rookie season of 1958 under first-year head coach Ray "Scooter" McLean, but the Packers finished with the worst record (1–10–1) in the twelve-team league. In January
1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
, the Packers hired a new head coach,
Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...
, the offensive coach of the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
. With Kramer playing
right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gi ...
, the Packers won five NFL titles and the
first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
two 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
s. He was also the team's
placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...
in 1962,
1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
, and part of 1968. As a kicker, he made 29
field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
, 90 extra points, for a total of 177 points. He also scored ten points, on three field goals and an extra point, in the Packers 16−7 victory over the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
in the 1962 NFL Championship Game at frigid
Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...
. In
1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
, he was jovially described as "the best
knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This chan ...
kicker in the NFL." In college at Idaho, he was also a kicker, with Walker as his
long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point attempt ...
; Walker was also a part-time kicker in the NFL for Detroit. During his NFL career, Kramer was often injured: among these were surgery to remove sizable wood fragments embedded in his abdomen from a teenage accident over a decade earlier, and a badly injured ankle suffered in
1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...
. In all, Kramer played in 129 regular season games; he also had 22 surgeries in 11 seasons, including a
colostomy A colostomy is an opening ( stoma) in the large intestine (colon), or the surgical procedure that creates one. The opening is formed by drawing the healthy end of the colon through an incision in the anterior abdominal wall and suturing it int ...
, which he described as "a horror movie that hasn't been made yet." Despite these setbacks, Kramer was selected as an All-Pro five times (, , , , and ); he was elected to the
Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michi ...
in 1993. Kramer is a member of the NFL's 50th Anniversary All-Time team, and was the final member of the team to be elected into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
. In 2003, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's inaugural HOVG class On August 24, 2017, Kramer and
Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...
linebacker
Robert Brazile Robert Lorenzo Brazile Jr. (born February 7, 1953) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Dr. Doom", Brazile played from 1975 to 1984 for the Houston Oilers and w ...
were named as Seniors Committee finalists for the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
for 2018. On February 3, 2018 both were selected for induction into the Hall of Fame as part of its 2018 class, with induction occurring on Saturday, August 4. Kramer also did some broadcasting as a color commentator for
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
in , and later for
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
- Week 2 , with
Chuck Thompson Charles Lloyd Thompson (June 10, 1921 – March 6, 2005) was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles and the National Football League's Baltimore Colts. He was well-recognized for his r ...
on the play-by-play, Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills, on September 11, .


Work as author

In his penultimate season of 1967, Kramer collaborated with
Dick Schaap Richard Jay Schaap (September 27, 1934 – December 21, 2001) was an American sportswriter, broadcaster, and author. Early life and education Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, and raised in Freeport, New York, on Long Island, Schaap began writ ...
on his first book, the best-selling ''
Instant Replay Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred which was both shot and broadcast live. The video, having already been shown live, is replayed in order for viewers to see again and analyze what had j ...
'', a diary of the season which chronicled the life of a professional football offensive lineman. The book climaxed with Kramer's lead block in front of
Bart Starr Bryan Bartlett Starr (January 9, 1934 – May 26, 2019) was an American professional football quarterback and head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Alab ...
to win the " Ice Bowl" championship game. Kramer and Schaap wrote two more books together. Kramer played one more year, under new
head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
Phil Bengtson John Phillip Bengtson (July 17, 1913 – December 18, 1994) was an American football player and coach. He was a longtime assistant coach in college football and the National Football League (NFL), chiefly remembered as the successor to Vince Lo ...
in 1968. Following that season, in which the aging Packers fell to a record of 6–7–1 and missed the
playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
, he wrote a second book, ''Farewell to Football''. After retiring as a player in May 1969, Kramer briefly worked as a
color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...
on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
' NFL telecasts. Following Lombardi's death from cancer in , Kramer edited ''Lombardi: Winning Is the Only Thing'', a collection of reminiscences from coaches, players, friends and family of Lombardi whom Kramer interviewed for the book. In 1985, Kramer wrote ''Distant Replay'', which updated the whereabouts of the members of the Packers'
Super Bowl I The first AFL–NFL World Championship Game (known retroactively as Super BowlI and referred to in contemporaneous reports, including the game's radio broadcast, as the Super Bowl) was an American football game played on January 15, 1967, at the ...
championship team following a team reunion at
Lambeau Field Lambeau Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 as City Stadium, replacing ...
during the
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
season. In October 2005, he released ''Inside the Locker Room'', a CD set that includes Lombardi's final locker room address as the head coach of the Packers in January 1968, immediately after Super Bowl II. In September 2006, Kramer re-released his 1968 bestseller, ''Instant Replay''.


Health issues

Kramer was noteworthy for overcoming a series of accidents and health issues prior to and during his professional football career. The most serious was in
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
; he played the first two games then missed the rest of the season, later diagnosed at the
Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...
with
actinomycosis Actinomycosis is a rare infectious bacterial disease caused by ''Actinomyces'' species. The name refers to ray-like appearance of the organisms in the granules. About 70% of infections are due to either '' Actinomyces israelii'' or '' A. gerencser ...
. After his wood fragment removal surgery in May
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
, he reclaimed his starting position at right guard and the Packers won three straight NFL titles (and the first two Super Bowls) and he was a first-team All-Pro twice more. The original accident in the summer of 1953 occurred when Kramer was chasing a calf on his family's farm and the calf stepped on a board, shattering it and shooting a lance-shaped splinter of wood into Kramer's abdomen; after piercing his abdomen, the splinter partially exited Kramer's back between two vertebrae. Doctors cut the piece in two and pulled it out front and back; two weeks later, Kramer was at pre-season football practice at Sandpoint High School for his senior season. As a freshman, he backed into a lathe in
shop Shop or shopping refers to: Business and commerce * A casual word for a commercial establishment or for a place of business * Machine shop, a workshop for machining *"In the shop", referring to a car being at an automotive repair shop *A wood s ...
class and incurred muscle damage to a hip, and was later in a car accident. While hunting, Kramer's shotgun exploded, which significantly injured his right forearm. He suffered broken bones, torn muscles, and nerve damage, which required plastic surgery and skin grafts. Some of the lead shot also penetrated his liver. To this day, Kramer cannot use the little finger on his right hand. In college at Idaho, Kramer was on the field for nearly every play until the final game when he incurred a minor knee injury. He played in two All-Star games shortly after.


Personal life

After retirement from the NFL, Kramer lived on a ranch near
Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
in
southwestern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
with his second wife Wink, then later moved to
Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...
.Idaho Press-Tribune
- Kramer remembers gridiron life - Football great enjoys exciting year, strives to make living better for others – April 2, 2011
Twice divorced, Kramer has six children: Tony, Diane, Daniel, Alicia, Matthew, and Jordan. He has five grandchildren. His youngest sons, Matt and Jordan Kramer, also played college football at the University of Idaho. Jordan, named after the Montana town in which Kramer was born, played two seasons in the NFL as a linebacker with the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
in
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
and 2004. After turning eighty in early 2016, Kramer auctioned off several items of memorabilia to raise college funds for his grandchildren, including his ring from the
first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
, which was sold for $125,000.


References


External links

* *
Pro Football Hall of FameGreen Bay Packers Hall of FameUniversity of Idaho Athletics Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Jerry 1936 births Living people People from Parma, Idaho People from Sandpoint, Idaho People from Jordan, Montana Sportspeople from Boise, Idaho Players of American football from Idaho Players of American football from Montana American football offensive guards American football placekickers Idaho Vandals football players Idaho Vandals men's track and field athletes Green Bay Packers players Western Conference Pro Bowl players Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees National Football League announcers Writers from Idaho Writers from Montana