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'The great thing about it is being home'

| May 26, 2018 1:00 AM

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(Photo courtesy JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY) Jerry Kramer gets his picture take with the Sandpoint High School mascots, Spike and Sparky, at Friday’s Hometown Hall of Famer program. Kramer, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August, was on hand to present a plaque to his alma mater along with Pro Football Hall of Fame officials as a way to honor his hometown roots.

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(Photo courtesy JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY) The Kramer family surrounds Jerry Kramer, center, former Sandpoint High School Bulldog, University of Idaho Vandal and Green Bay Packer legend. Kramer was in town Friday as part of the Hometown Hall of Famer program to present a plaque noting Sandpoint High School as an official high school of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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(Photo courtesy JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY) A bronze plaque was presented to Sandpoint High School Friday as part of a Hometown Hall of Famer program. Presented by Ford Motor Company, the program paid tribute to Kramer’s roots in Sandpoint and as a SHS Bulldog.

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(Photo courtesy JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY) Jerry Kramer laughs as he tells a story about growing up in Sandpoint during Friday’s Hometown Hall of Famer program at Sandpoint High School. A plaque, which honors Kramer’s hometown roots, was presented to the school and will be installed at War Memorial Field in the near future.

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Photo by JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Jerry Kramer points to the packed house of Sandpoint High School students, community members and family at Friday’s Hometown Hall of Famer program. Pictured at right is George Veras, chief operating officer and executive producer of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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(Photo courtesy JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY) George Veras, chief operating officer and executive producer of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, left, helps former SHS Bulldog and Green Bay Packer Jerry Kramer, right, pull a cover off a plaque presented to SHS noting them as the 119th school to become an official high school of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

By ERIC PLUMMER

Bonner County Daily Bee

SANDPOINT — It took all of two sentences, that and the instant glistening of his eyes, to realize what the hometown of Sandpoint means to newly elected Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Kramer, on hand Friday to present Sandpoint High School with a Hometown Hall of Famer plaque, courtesy of Ford Motor Company.

The former Bulldog football, basketball and track standout, now 82 years old, strode to the podium set up in the center of Les Rogers Court, surrounded by a packed house of students, old friends, family, fans and media.

George Veras, chief operating officer of the NFL Hall of Fame, pulled back a black cloth to reveal a shiny bronze plaque with the strapping mug of a young Kramer carved at the top. After a prolonged standing ovation, Kramer addressed the crowd for the first time, as only he can.

“Incredible emotional response here. Old teammates,” said a nostalgic Kramer, voice cracking with emotion. “The great thing about it is being home. I’m usually in front of people I don’t know.”

The former Sandpoint, Idaho Vandal and Green Bay Packers guard and kicker then told a story about running away from home after he felt his dad had treated him poorly as a young kid, ending up by what he called Berry Creek. Before long he saw a fish, ran back home and grabbed his pole, and nobody ever knew that he’d ever run away from home. The story drew laughs, and it wouldn’t be the last time.

He drew gasps from the SHS students when he regaled about shooting his arm with a 10 gauge shotgun as a teenager, a true story, then drew laughter when he told how his sister Martha ran over and yelled, “Jerry got shot, but he’s not dead yet.”

He recalled telling legendary Sandpoint coach Cotton Barlow that he wanted to play running back as a sophomore, to which the coach replied, “You can be a running back, but you’ll sit on the bench. If you play tackle, you’ll start.” Sage advice, indeed.

No Kramer speech would be complete without a Vince Lombardi story or two, and he obliged, recalling how they went 1-10-1 and lost 56-0 to the Baltimore Colts during the iconic coach’s first year with the Packers.

“The Colts had a white horse that ran around every time they scored,” shared Kramer, before delivering the punchline. “We damn near killed that horse.”

He talked of how tough Lombardi was, and how he completely changed the attitude of the Green Bay Packers. The two would team up for five NFL championships, and wins in the first two Super Bowls, with Kramer carrying the Packers’ coach off the field after Super Bowl II in one of the signature photos in NFL history.

He ended his speech by looking at the SHS students and telling them “you are the captains of your own fate,” and “to make this world a better place because you were in it.”

The speech was vintage Kramer, and a prelude to what NFL fans around the country will get to hear during his upcoming induction speech, as there simply aren’t many storytellers out there in his league.

Among those in attendance was daughter Alicia Kramer, who spearheaded a campaign for her dad’s enshrinement that was buoyed by passionate responses from fans across the country, many perplexed by the glaring omission.

“I was never sure it would happen. I had hoped it would. You dream these things, but you never entertain it, it’s a long shot,” said Alicia, who had trouble not crying while answering. “I didn’t want that to be the end of the story for my dad. That’s what kept me going.”

Alicia recently accompanied her dad to Dallas, where he announced the Packers’ second pick of the NFL draft on television. She said the pilot and the flight attendants were congratulating him, and the airport security gave him a standing ovation, and things are simply different now.

It’s been quite the whirlwind for the entire Kramer family since they got the news they’d been waiting decades for. Alicia teared up, as she’s been doing a lot lately, retelling how she found out.

“He’d gone to coffee with a friend. I literally fell to my knees and cried. Dad called me from the coffee shop, and we both cried,” said Alicia. “It’s amazing to be able to share it with him while he’s still alive ... for all of us to celebrate.”

Also on hand was Kiki Kramer, 88, describing herself as the leader of the Kramer clan, being the oldest sister and all. She mentioned that one overlooked fact about her younger brother is that he broke the Idaho high school shot put record as a senior.

Like all of the Kramer family, she’s been on cloud nine since the announcement was made during the Super Bowl week.

“It’s really exciting. It was well-deserved,” said Kiki, who was with a host of family when the news became official. “We all cheered, some cried. Jerry is the same as always.”

Jack Bloxom, who played with Kramer at Sandpoint before going on to coach North Idaho College baseball for nearly three decades, was on hand to pay homage to his old friend.

“Super person,” described Bloxom. “He was a hell of a football player and athlete.”

Another friend and former teammate in attendance was Leon Lewis, a neighbor of who played basketball and was quarterback on the Bulldog football team with Kramer. He went to three Packers games in the 1960s to watch Kramer in person, and was happy to renew old acquaintances on Friday at SHS.

He was asked what sticks out most about the Hall of Famer.

“He wants to do the right thing all the time, it’s always been that way,” claimed Lewis, who admitted he was nervous when they announced the class of 2018. “I was on pins and needles. I cried.”

Kramer becomes just the second player from Idaho ever to make the Hall of Fame, joining former Arizona Cardinals safety Larry Wilson, who is from Rigby. He’ll enter the hallowed halls with the likes of Ray Lewis, Randy Moss and Brian Urlacher in the class of 2018.

The Hometown Hall of Famer program is the NFL’s way of rewarding the true roots of its players.

“It’s designed to give back to the places that helped on their road to the Hall of Fame,” said Veras, marveling at the way Kramer waited 45 years to receive an honor most felt was long overdue. “He waited with grace. It wasn’t the wait, it was the way he waited.”

SHS principal Tom Albertson said the plaque will eventually be mounted on one of the pillars to the entrance of Barlow Stadium at War Memorial Field.

The NFL Network will air footage of the event on Monday morning.