Hall of Famer Kramer to honor alma mater
ERIC PLUMMER/Bonner County Daily Bee file Jerry Kramer and his family, pictured here enjoying a special presentation of a gold NFL football three years ago, will return to Sandpoint on Friday for a special ceremony. From left are grandson Charlie Kramer, sister in-law Tammy Kramer, son Matthew Kramer, Jerry Kramer and daughter Alicia Kramer.
By ERIC PLUMMER
Bonner County Daily Bee
SANDPOINT — Jerry Kramer is returning to his hometown bearing gifts again, this time bringing a Hometown Hall of Famer special plaque to present to Sandpoint High School on Friday at 1:15 p.m. in the gymnasium.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame and Ford Motor Company will be on hand to run the event, as the recent 2018 class inductee Kramer and his family return to honor his alma mater for the second time in the past three years.
Three years ago it was to present a gold football to SHS as part of the NFL’s 50th Super Bowl Anniversary, this time it’s to present his old high school with a commemorative plaque from the NFL Hall of Fame during a school assembly, which is open to the public, space permitting.
“This is the second time we’ve been able to welcome Jerry home,” said Sandpoint athletic director Kris Knowles. “This time he’s a Hall of Famer.”
Kramer was voted into Canton alongside a prestigious 2018 class including Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher and Randy Moss, among others.
None is more steeped in Super Bowl tradition than Kramer, the starting guard who carried Vince Lombardi off the field after winning Super Bowl II and defending the Green Bay Packers’ first title.
Scores of football fans from every corner of the United States were happy to see Kramer get this long overdue honor, and while folks in Wisconsin were rightfully excited, his hometown of Sandpoint was especially proud.
While Knowles and the SHS administration put on the gold football presentation at halftime of a football game, on Friday they’re stepping aside and letting the pros handle things.
“The Pro Football Hall of Fame is running the show on this one,” admitted Knowles. “They keep saying this is for Sandpoint.”
Sandpoint High School will become just the 119th school to be an “Official High School of the Pro Football Hall of Fame” by accepting this historical artifact.
Hometown Hall of Famer is a national program that honors the hometown roots of the greatest heroes of the game with special ceremonies and plaque dedication events in local communities. Following the ceremony, the plaque will be on permanent display at the school, or perhaps at the entrance to Barlow Stadium at War Memorial Field.
Kramer played football for Cotton Barlow at Sandpoint, before the three-sport standout starred at guard and kicker for the University of Idaho.
From there he went on to win five NFL championships as an 11 year NFL guard with the Green Bay Packers from 1958-68.
Kramer was named to three Pro Bowls, selected All-Pro six times and named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1960s.
Kramer was also the pulling guard on the signature Packers Sweep, and threw arguably the most famous block in NFL history to help Bart Starr over the goal line in the famous Ice Bowl win over Dallas.
While Kramer has attended a few events in his hometown over the past decade, Friday will mark the first return as an NFL Hall of Famer. He’ll be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August, 2018.