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A Football Hero (tap to read)

3/11/2023

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Here's a trivia question for you. Where did the man named the outstanding guard in the history of professional football grow up? Idaho, of course, but which town?
 
Football fans got this one right away. Jerry Kramer, named the outstanding guard in the history of professional football back in 1969, grew up in Sandpoint, Idaho. Kramer attended high school there, then went on to the University of Idaho, where he was a business major and football player.
 
Kramer was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 1958 NFL draft. He became a legendary guard with the team when he blocked Jethro Pugh in a do-or-die effort that allowed Bart Starr to make a winning touchdown and clinch the NFL championship in 1967.
 
The Packers called on Kramer's versatility in 1962 when their placekicker was injured. Jerry Kramer made nine of eleven field goal attempts and 38 of 39 extra points. Not a bad effort for a fill-in place-kicker.
 
Before retiring in 1968, Kramer played on five championship teams, was named All-Pro five times, and participated in three Pro Bowls. He played for the Packers in the first two Super Bowls. The team won them both.

Kramer was a member of the NFL's 50th Anniversary All-Time team. For many years he was the only member of that team not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was nominated ten times. Finally, at age 82, he got that well-deserved honor in 2018.

Kramer wrote several books about his football career, including Instant Replay: The Green Bay Diary of Jerry Kramer.
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    Author, Speaker

    Rick Just has been writing about Idaho history since 1989 when he wrote and recorded scripts for the Idaho Centennial Commission’s daily radio program, Idaho Snapshots. His latest book on Idaho history is Images of America, Idaho State Parks. Rick also writes a regular column for the Idaho Press.

    Rick does public presentations on Idaho's state park history and the history of the Morrisite war for the Idaho Humanities Council's Speakers Bureau.
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    Check out Rick's history of Idaho State Parks.

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