Ron Kramer
No. 88, 83 | |||||||
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Position: | End | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Girard, Kansas, U.S. | June 24, 1935||||||
Died: | September 11, 2010 Fenton, Michigan, U.S. | (aged 75)||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 234 lb (106 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | East Detroit (East Detroit, Michigan) | ||||||
College: | Michigan (1954–1956) | ||||||
NFL draft: | 1957 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||
Ronald John Kramer (June 24, 1935 – September 11, 2010) was an American professional
Kramer attended the
Kramer was selected by Green Bay with the fourth pick in the
Early life
Born in
University of Michigan
Kramer enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1953. He was a three-sport athlete (football, basketball, and track) and led both the football and basketball teams in scoring for two years. Altogether, Kramer won a total of nine varsity letters in his three sports — the maximum number possible, as freshmen did not have athletic eligibility at the time.
Football
Kramer played college football at the end position (both defensive and offensive) for the Michigan Woverines from 1954 through 1956.[5]
As a 19-year-old sophomore, Kramer started all nine games at left end for the 1954 team that finished the season ranked #15 in the final
As a junior in
Kramer had his best collegiate season as a senior, starting all nine games in 1956 and the Wolverines ended at seventh in the final
Following Kramer's senior year, Michigan retired his jersey number 87 – one of only five numbers in school history to be retired. In three years at Michigan, Kramer caught 53 passes for 880 yards and eight touchdowns. He was also known as an outstanding tackler and blocker. Bennie Oosterbaan, Kramer's football coach at Michigan, described his blocking and tackling ability as his most valuable asset. Oosterbaan said this of his star player:
"To top off his marvelous physical gifts of size and speed and strength, plus an uncanny coordination, Kramer was one of the fiercest competitors I've ever seen. Nothing was impossible for him — the impossible was only a challenge."
Kramer also handled kicking and punting duties for Michigan. He handled 31 punts for a 40.6 yard average, kicked two field goals, and successfully converted 43 of 51 extra point attempts.[12]
Basketball
Kramer also excelled in basketball. He played at the center position and was selected as the
Kramer was a two-sport professional athlete. He played in the
NFL career
Green Bay Packers
Kramer was the fourth overall selection in the
Kramer returned to the Packers in 1959, but caught no passes that year and only four passes during the 1960 season. Teammate Paul Hornung later described Kramer's evolution after Vince Lombardi arrived in 1959:
"[O]ne real special case was Ron Kramer. He came to us, Ron did, with an I-don't-give-a-damn attitude. He had great ability and great confidence in it but he just didn't use it. For a long time, he wasn't able to do the job. Vince got on (him) something terrible. He never let up and then one day, after nearly two years of that I guess, things just went click, click, click and Ron Kramer became a magnificent football player."[19]
Kramer reached his stride after moving to the tight end position during the 1961 season; that year, Kramer had 35 catches for 559 yards and four touchdowns.[1] In 1962, Kramer caught 37 passes for 555 yards and seven touchdowns and was selected to play in the Pro Bowl and as a first-team All-Pro player.[1] From 1961 to 1964, Kramer had at least 500 receiving yards every season, averaging 16 yards per reception.[1] He became an integral part of Vince Lombardi's 1961 and 1962 teams that won the Packers' first NFL championships since 1944. In the 1961 NFL Championship Game, a 37–0 win for the Packer over the New York Giants, Kramer was the leading receiver, catching four passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns.[20] In addition to his talent as a receiver, Kramer's talent as a blocker was an integral part of the famed "Packers sweep."[21]
Detroit Lions
Kramer played out his contract option with the Packers and, as a free agent, signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Lions in August 1965. The Lions were required to compensate the Packers with a first-round draft choice in 1966.[22] Kramer had asked to be traded to the Lions so he could be closer to his wife and children. Teammate Jerry Kramer recalled, "He asked Coach Lombardi to trade him because he was trying to save his marriage."[21]
Kramer played three seasons for the Lions at the tight end position from 1965 to 1967. He appeared in 39 games for the Lions, 13 as a starter.[1] In his first two seasons with the Lions, Kramer caught 55 passes for 638 yards and a touchdown. During the 1967 season, Kramer was slowed by injuries and caught only four passes for 40 yards in 11 games.[23]
In July 1968, the Lions gave Kramer his unconditional release.[23] Three weeks later, Kramer announced that, despite receiving offers to play for several other teams, he was resigning from football to assume a position as vice president of Paragon Steel Corp. in Detroit.[24] Kramer later described his years with the Lions as "awful" and called head coach Harry Gilmer "the dumbest guy I ever met."[25]
Career statistics
In 10 NFL seasons, Kramer appeared in 128 games and totaled 229 receptions for 3,272 yards and 16 touchdowns. Out of his 16 career touchdown catches, 15 came in a three-year stretch from 1961 to 1963.[1]
Honors and later years
After retiring as a football player, Kramer went into the steel business. In 1969, he was hired as a vice president of Paragon Steel Corp. of Detroit.[26] He spent 22 years at Paragon before establishing Ron Kramer Industries in 1981, a company which is still in business today.[27][28] He had two children, Kurtis Kramer and Cassandra Koehler.[27]
Kramer received numerous honors and awards, including the following:
- In 1971, Kramer was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.[2]
- In 1975, Kramer was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.[29]
- In 1978, Kramer was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame .[9]
- Also in 1978, Kramer became one of the first seven individuals inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor.[30]
- In 1981, Kramer was named as a recipient of the NCAA's Silver Anniversary Award in recognition of significant professional and civic contributions spanning 25 years after completion of his college eligibility.[2]
- In 1999, Sports Illustrated published a list of "The 50 Greatest Sports Figures From Michigan" (in all sports), and ranked Kramer seventh on the list behind such noted athletes as Joe Louis, Magic Johnson, Charlie Gehringer and Bennie Oosterbaan.[31]
Kramer died in September 2010 at age 75.[32]
On September 15, 2012, Kramer was recognized as a Michigan Football Legend and his jersey (#87) was unretired and given to Brandon Moore. Each player honored with the No. 87 jersey will wear a patch over the left upper chest honoring Kramer, and dress at a locker labeled with a plaque bearing his name and time of tenure at Michigan.[33]
In 2019, despite not being in the
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Ron Kramer". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
- ^ a b c "U-M Legend Ron Kramer Passes Away". MGoBlue.com. University of Michigan. September 11, 2010. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
- ^ a b c Bob Wolf (October 26, 1978). "Packers' Ron Kramer Was a Model for a Modern Tight End". The Milwaukee Journal. p. 3-3.
- ^ "1952 UP All-State Football Team". The Enquirer and News (Battle Creek, MI). December 2, 1952. p. 15.
- ^ "All-Time Football Roster Database". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
- ^ a b "1954 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page". University of Michigan. Archived from the original on May 24, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2015.(to retrieve information for a particular season, go to "Games & Totals by Season" and select the year for which statistics are to be retrieved)
- ^ "1955 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ^ a b "Ron Kramer". College Football Hall of Fame. Football Foundation. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
- ^ a b "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 6. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
- ^ "1956 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
- ^ Darren Jasey (April 17, 1986). "Michigan's man of steel: Kramer, former star, forges winning career". The Michigan Daily. p. 10.
- ^ 2007–08 Men's Basketball Media Guide. University of Michigan. 2007. p. 147.
- ^ Michigan Basketball 2007–08 (media guide).
- ^ 2007–08 Men's Basketball Media Guide. University of Michigan. 2007. p. 162.
- ^ "Battle Creek Warriors Rosters".
- ^ "Ron Kramer Refuses Pro Basketball Offer". The Victoria Advocate (AP story). February 15, 1957.
- ^ "'Packers Miss Ron Kramer'; Bear Scout Calls Him Ideal Slot Receiver". The Milwaukee Journal. November 30, 1958. p. 7.
- ^ Andy Barall (September 14, 2010). "Remembering Ron Kramer, Packers' Rock at Tight End". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
- ^ "People in 'Titletown, U.S.A.' Still Celebrating World Championship". Ocala Star-Banner. January 1, 1962. p. 12.
- ^ a b Tom Silverstein (September 11, 2010). "Ex-Packer tight end, hero of '61 title game Kramer dies". Journal Sentinel.
- ^ "Lions Sign Ron Kramer". The Milwaukee Sentinel (AP story). August 4, 1965. p. 2-2.
- ^ a b "Lions Give Ron Kramer Release". Schenectady Gazette (AP story). July 26, 1968.
- ^ "Ron Kramer Announces Retirement". Spartanburg Herald (AP story). August 13, 1968. p. 7.
- ISBN 978-1600788703.
- ^ "Ron Kramer Assault Victim". The Milwaukee Journal. October 31, 1969. pp. 2–21.
- ^ a b "Ronald J. Kramer Death Notice". Lynch & Sons. Retrieved March 31, 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Ron Kramer Industries Bloomfield Hills MI, 48301 – Manta.com". Archived from the original on August 18, 2018.
- ^ "Ron Kramer". Packer Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ^ "University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor (sorted by induction year)". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
- ^ "The Master List The 50 Greatest Sports Figures of the Century From Each of the 50 States". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
- ^ Mark Snyder (September 11, 2010). "U-M great Ron Kramer dead at 75". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010.
- ^ "Kramer Recognized as Michigan Football Legend, Moore to Wear No. 87". MGoBlue.com. University of Michigan. September 15, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
- ^ Tight end finalists announced for NFL All-Time Team
External links
- Ron Kramer at the College Football Hall of Fame
- Bentley Library biography and photograph of Kramer
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference