Jerry Kramer to Be Rightfully Enshrined in NFL Hall of Fame
It took some time -- a lot of it -- but finally, one of the hallmark pieces to the Green Bay Packers' championship teams of the 1960s will finally have a bust of his own in Canton, Ohio.
At Saturday's NFL Honors, Kramer was part of the eight-man Hall of Fame class after years and years of fan and family-influenced bargaining with the committee.
An 11-time finalist, it took over two decades for Kramer to be up for election since he was a senior candidate in 1997. Prior to this day, Kramer was the only member of the NFL's 50th-anniversary team not in the Hall of Fame. Finally, the tide has rocked in his favor.
Kramer was the 39th overall selection in the Packers' prestigious 1958 draft haul, joining the team alongside fullback Jim Taylor and linebacker Ray Nitschke -- both of which are in the Hall of Fame. It took the arrival of Vince Lombardi in 1959 for the Packers to truly commence their ruling over the NFL for the next decade.
With Kramer leading the way at right guard and Lombardi at the helm, the Packers won five titles including the first two Super Bowls in 1966 and 1967. Through that decade, Kramer was an All-Pro five times and a three-time Pro Bowler, but none of the accolades came without Kramer redefining what it meant to be tough.
In 129 career games, Kramer had 22 surgeries -- one of them to remove what was described as "wood fragments" that were embedded in his abdomen with a variety of complications and infections that stemmed from what Kramer called a childhood accident. He also suffered a severe ankle injury in 1961 that caused him to miss a handful of games.
Kramer's presence was felt even more so in the 1967 NFL Championship when he helped pave the way for quarterback Bart Starr's game-winning quarterback sneak in what has been dubbed as "The Ice Bowl." He was also vital in executing the power sweep, a play birthed from Lombardi that is now a common staple in essentially every NFL playbook.
"It was something I was afraid to believe in," Kramer told USA Today's Lindsay Jones on finally receiving that knock on his hotel room door. "Something I was afraid to hope for."
Kramer is now the 13th member of Lombardi's Packers to be voted into the Hall of Fame and the 25th Hall of Famer in team history, and it's large part in thanks to the heavy social media influence and protest work done by his daughter, Alicia Kramer.
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Zachary Jacobson is a staff writer/reporter for Cheesehead TV. He's the voice of The Leap on iTunes and can be heard on The Scoop KLGR 1490 AM every Saturday morning. He's also a contributor on the Pack-A-Day Podcast. He can be found on Twitter via @ZachAJacobson or contacted through email at [email protected].
Comments (24)
worztik
February 03, 2018 at 06:15 pm
Finally!!!! If it’s true!!! WOO HOO WOO HOO!!!!!!!!
GBPDAN1
February 04, 2018 at 02:31 am
FINALLY!!! Congratulations, Jerry ! I'm so glad JK is still with us and is able to enjoy this well deserved honor. I was worried it might have happened after his passing. This is such a special day for Jerry, his family, his friends and all Packers fans! We've waited all these years (45 years of eligibility). Enjoy yourself , Mr. Kramer and have a big party. You gave it your all, you made Lombardi (and Packers fans) proud, you are a legend and you deserve a Gold Jacket !
keeley2
February 03, 2018 at 06:15 pm
In a by-gone era that would never think about naming a play, the "Block" still resonates with every Packer fan across several generations. Congratulations Jerry Kramer ! A well deserved accolade to be sure.
4thand1
February 03, 2018 at 06:25 pm
BOUT F-ING TIME!!!!!!. JK, doesn't stand for just kidding. Congrats to Jerry Kramer, gonna get my tickets.
Bear
February 03, 2018 at 06:36 pm
Well deserved honor! About time.
Bearmeat
February 03, 2018 at 06:58 pm
Good for him. He deserved it about 40 years ago!
Since'61
February 03, 2018 at 08:24 pm
Long overdue and more than well earned. It took too long for him to get to the hall, but I am thrilled that he finally made it. Congratulations and Way to go Jerry!
Poetry in motion with Fuzzy Thurston. Thanks, Since '61
marpag1
February 05, 2018 at 07:03 am
Hey '61,
With my fat phone fingers, I accidentally clicked on your handle and got taken to your profile page. You've got a truckload of "upvotes," of course, but guess how many "downvotes" you've got?
1265.
As in "Lombardi Ave."
Damn, buddy, now that's a REAL Packer fan right there, hey.
Denver
February 03, 2018 at 08:40 pm
He must be on top of the world...sometimes the wait is worth it.
jeremyjjbrown
February 03, 2018 at 09:38 pm
Thanks for finally fixing your glaring omission HOF.
Hematite
February 04, 2018 at 05:56 am
The highlight of my Super Bowl weekend!
Congratulations Jerry!!!!!
NickPerry
February 04, 2018 at 06:24 am
I'm watching a rerun of the NFL Honors Awards and just watched Jerry Kramer limp onto the stage. Jerry deserved this honor and LONG time ago, long before he began limping for sure.
Then I watched as others in the HOF came up on the stage to congratulate them I caught a glimpse of someone who IMO doesn't deserve to be in the HOF in the first place, Jerry Jones. It's laughable that Jerry Jones is the HOF to begin with. It's a F****** crime and a joke he was enshrined before Kramer.
Congratulations to Jerry Kramer. I'm so happy he was nominated while he was still with us to enjoy it. This was one of the biggest ongoing snubs in Pro Football but not anymore.
Qoojo
February 04, 2018 at 10:17 am
Jones basically bought his way into the HoF. Maybe 90% of the people in the HoF belong there. The rest were political and/or popularity appointments. It's getting worse as today's game bloats passing numbers, and players that don't belong get in based on bloated numbers.
Dr.Rodgers
February 04, 2018 at 04:02 pm
Nailed it!
Tundraboy
February 04, 2018 at 07:23 am
Well at least all is right with the World for a day. So grateful that Jerry is here to enjoy this long overdue honor.
flackcatcher
February 04, 2018 at 07:34 am
Man, some of those old school guys could really hold a grudge. Glad Jerry Kramer is finally in. Should have been 1st ballot. One of truly great linemen of his generation. When all is said in done, rates in the first rank of all pro football. Yes, he was that good. Congratulations sir, with that a injustice is finally fixed.
Coldworld
February 04, 2018 at 07:37 am
An example of the right thing actually getting done at last.
Doug Niemczynski
February 04, 2018 at 08:05 am
A lot of mock drafts have the Packers either taking Josh Jackson cornerback which is okay I suppose but why in the world would they take this Denzel Ward he's 5 foot 10 we have to cover 6 foot 3 wide receivers
Denzel Ward as the first cornerback taken in the draft
JDK52
February 04, 2018 at 08:32 pm
I'm thrilled Jerry Kramer FINALLY got voted in to the Hall, too! Great day for the Packers!!
rdent
February 04, 2018 at 09:17 am
Long over due! I am very happy for him.
4thand1
February 04, 2018 at 09:43 am
WTG Packer fans, Kramer credits fans for there non stop persistence in getting him in the HOF.
Dan McGraw
February 04, 2018 at 03:03 pm
Congrats to Jerry Kramer, my boyhood hero as a player and also as an author with Instant Replay!
Samson
February 04, 2018 at 11:05 pm
Hey
I just love some Reggie but ....
isn't this about Jerry K. ??
Your homepage needs to highlight the man this blog is really about --- ya think?
Qoojo
February 05, 2018 at 08:27 pm
Here is a funny quote from packersnew.com:
"Back when the Hall notified Kramer he was the seniors finalist, Joe Horrigan, the Hall’s executive director, told Kramer: “Jerry, I want you to know that this will reduce my incoming mail by 90 percent. Those people in Green Bay have questioned my manhood, my heritage, my intelligence. Everything.”
No more of that, Joe. Jerry Kramer is in."
Good thing he never brought his dog to green bay.