Former Vandal Kramer denied HOF bid

Sandpoint native played 11 seasons with Packers

By The Associated Press

Sandpoint native Jerry Kramer, a former University of Idaho and Green Bay Packers offensive lineman, was not nominated for Pro Football Hall of Fame consideration by the hall's senior selection committee. The nine-member committee is responsible for forwarding up to two names to the full 44-member committee for final vote.

The senior selection committee instead chose nose tackle Curley Culp (Chiefs, Oilers, Lions) and linebacker Dave Robinson, like Kramer, a Vince Lombardi-era Packer.

Kramer, a 10-time finalist for the Hall of Fame, was the center of an intense public relations campaign by his daughter, Alicia, and Boise's Gallatin Public Affairs, which collected letters of support from nearly three dozen Hall of Famers.

"I think that we will continue to remind the senior selection

committee of the support that Jerry Kramer has," said Gallatin's Randy Simon, who spearheaded the effort. "I don't know that we'll be quite as aggressive about it. I hate to see the letters of support that we got this year from the players that played against him and know him best not get recycled and used next year."

The University of Idaho, city of Boise, Boise State, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, Sen. Jim Risch, Sen. Mike Crapo and Rep. Mike Simpson all endorsed Kramer's candidacy.

Kramer, 76, played 11 seasons with the Packers from 1958 to 1968. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection and a five-time first-team All-Pro selection. He lives in Boise.

"It may seem strange to say that you can be very disappointed and enormously gratified at the same time, but that is my feeling today. Disappointed, of course, that my dad was not nominated by the Senior Selection Committee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but at the same time enormously gratified by the coast-to-coast show of support, respect, even love that people have shown him," Alicia Kramer said in a statement.

"I know my Dad will simply say - thanks for all the support and love. He's very pleased for the guys who have been nominated, especially his teammate Dave Robinson. If our efforts did nothing more than widen the circle of fans who know more about his career, it has been a success. Jerry Kramer loves being a Packer and a part of some of the greatest teams in the history of pro football and, who knows, his time may still come.

"Dozens of Hall of Famers endorsed his nomination and they know, as so many of us know, that he belongs in the Hall. We'll never stop believing that. Thanks to all who helped and hoped. It is a good cause."