Gary Lee Kroner (born November 6, 1940) is a former

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 ...

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 ...

and halfback. Kroner was born in 1940 in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

, and attended Premontre High School in Green Bay. He then enrolled at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

where he played as both a halfback and placekicker for the

Wisconsin Badgers football The Wisconsin Badgers football program represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the sport of American football. Wisconsin competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the W ...

team from 1960 to 1962. As a member of the Big Ten and Rose Bowl champion 1962 Wisconsin Badgers football team, Kroner converted 27 of 27 extra point kicks and set Wisconsin school records for points scored by kicking (36) and conversion percentage (100%). Kroner was drafted 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 ...

in the seventh round of the

1963 NFL draft The 1963 National Football League draft was held at the Sheraton in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, December 3, 1962. The first overall selection was quarterback Terry Baker of Oregon State, the Heisman Trophy winner, taken by the Los Angeles Ram ...

. He participated in the Packers' 1962 preseason as a defensive back and kicker. He later played in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL) as placekicker for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

from 1965 to 1967. He appeared in 31 AFL games for the Broncos, tallying 144 points on 29 field goals and 57 extra points.

References

External links

Profile
at Pro Football Reference {{DEFAULTSORT:Kroner, Gary 1940 births Denver Broncos (AFL) players Players of American football from Green Bay, Wisconsin Living people Wisconsin Badgers football players