Ron Kramer
Encyclopedia
Ronald J. Kramer was a multi-sport college athlete and professional American football
player. Before embarking on a career in the National Football League
, he lettered in football, basketball
, and track
at the University of Michigan
in the 1950s. Playing at end for the Michigan Wolverines football
team from 1954 to 1956, Kramer was a three-time All-American
. Following his days at Michigan, Kramer was selected in the first round of the 1957 NFL Draft
by the Green Bay Packers
. He played for the Packers for seven seasons (1957, 1959–1964) and three more with the Detroit Lions
(1965–1967). Kramer was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1978. His football jersey number at Michigan (#87) was retired upon his graduation.
. In the tradition of Michigan athletes, Ron Kramer is considered to be ranked among the best. A three-sport athlete (football, basketball
and track
), Kramer led both the football and basketball
teams in scoring for two years. Altogether, Kramer won a total of nine varsity letters in his three sports—the maximum number possible, as freshmen did not have athletic eligibility at the time.
Kramer's credits include two consensus football All-American selections (1955–56), the retirement of his jersey number (87) by the Wolverines following his senior season (one of only five numbers in school history to be retired), and the selection as the basketball team's most valuable player in each of his three seasons. As basketball team captain
, he was third-team All-Big Ten in 1957 after being second-team All-Big Ten in both 1955 and 1956. During his junior year, he averaged 20.4 points per game over a 22-game season and is a member of the career 1000-point club. He held the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
career scoring
record of 1119 points from 1957 until it was broken by John Tidwell
in 1961.
and three with the Detroit Lions
.
's Silver Anniversary Award in recognition of significant professional and civic contributions spanning 25 years after completion of his college eligibility.
Bennie Oosterbaan
, Kramer's football coach at Michigan, described his blocking and tackling ability as his most valuable asset. Oosterbaan said this of his star player:
"To top off his marvelous physical gifts of size and speed and strength, plus an uncanny coordination, Kramer was one of the fiercest competitors I've ever seen. Nothing was impossible for him — the impossible was only a challenge."
In 1999, Sports Illustrated
published a list of "The 50 Greatest Sports Figures From Michigan" (in all sports), and ranked Kramer seventh on the list behind Joe Louis
, Magic Johnson
, Charlie Gehringer
, Bennie Oosterbaan
, Hal Newhouser
and Dave DeBusschere
. "The 50 Greatest Sports Figures From Michigan," Sports Illustrated
, December 27, 1999. He was ranked ahead of many legendary Michigan Wolverines football
figures, including Fielding H. Yost (#9), Rick Leach (#22), Fritz Crisler
(#31) and Harry Kipke (#40).
Kramer died in September 2010 at age 75.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. Before embarking on a career in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, he lettered in football, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in the 1950s. Playing at end for the Michigan Wolverines football
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
team from 1954 to 1956, Kramer was a three-time All-American
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
. Following his days at Michigan, Kramer was selected in the first round of the 1957 NFL Draft
1957 NFL Draft
The 1957 National Football League Draft was held on November 27, 1956.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
by the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
. He played for the Packers for seven seasons (1957, 1959–1964) and three more with the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
(1965–1967). Kramer was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1978. His football jersey number at Michigan (#87) was retired upon his graduation.
Early life and college career
Kramer began his sports career playing for East Detroit High School in Eastpointe, MichiganEastpointe, Michigan
Eastpointe is a city in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 34,077. Eastpointe forms a part of the Metro Detroit area. It borders on 8 Mile Road on the northern edge of Detroit.- History :The community was first settled by Irish and German...
. In the tradition of Michigan athletes, Ron Kramer is considered to be ranked among the best. A three-sport athlete (football, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
), Kramer led both the football and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
teams in scoring for two years. Altogether, Kramer won a total of nine varsity letters in his three sports—the maximum number possible, as freshmen did not have athletic eligibility at the time.
Kramer's credits include two consensus football All-American selections (1955–56), the retirement of his jersey number (87) by the Wolverines following his senior season (one of only five numbers in school history to be retired), and the selection as the basketball team's most valuable player in each of his three seasons. As basketball team captain
Captain (sports)
In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...
, he was third-team All-Big Ten in 1957 after being second-team All-Big Ten in both 1955 and 1956. During his junior year, he averaged 20.4 points per game over a 22-game season and is a member of the career 1000-point club. He held the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Michigan. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association . The Wolverines play home basketball games at the...
career scoring
Point (basketball)
Points in basketball are used to keep track of the score in a game. Points can be accumulated by making field goals or free throws ....
record of 1119 points from 1957 until it was broken by John Tidwell
John Tidwell
John W. Tidwell is a retired American basketball player and medical doctor. He played for the University of Michigan from 1958 to 1961 and broke the school's records for points scored in a single game and single season. He later became an obstetrician-gynecologist in Charlotte, North...
in 1961.
NFL career
In the NFL, Kramer played 10 seasons (1957, 1959–1967), the first seven with the Green Bay PackersGreen Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
and three with the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
.
Honors and death
Kramer was elected into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1971. In 1981, he was named as a recipient of the NCAANational Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
's Silver Anniversary Award in recognition of significant professional and civic contributions spanning 25 years after completion of his college eligibility.
Bennie Oosterbaan
Bennie Oosterbaan
Benjamin Gaylord "Bennie" Oosterbaan was a three-time first team All-American football end for the Michigan Wolverines football team, two-time All-American basketball player for the basketball team and an All-Big Ten Conference baseball player for the baseball team...
, Kramer's football coach at Michigan, described his blocking and tackling ability as his most valuable asset. Oosterbaan said this of his star player:
"To top off his marvelous physical gifts of size and speed and strength, plus an uncanny coordination, Kramer was one of the fiercest competitors I've ever seen. Nothing was impossible for him — the impossible was only a challenge."
In 1999, Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
published a list of "The 50 Greatest Sports Figures From Michigan" (in all sports), and ranked Kramer seventh on the list behind Joe Louis
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
, Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers...
, Charlie Gehringer
Charlie Gehringer
Charles Leonard Gehringer , nicknamed “The Mechanical Man,” was a German-American Major League Baseball second baseman who played 19 seasons for the Detroit Tigers...
, Bennie Oosterbaan
Bennie Oosterbaan
Benjamin Gaylord "Bennie" Oosterbaan was a three-time first team All-American football end for the Michigan Wolverines football team, two-time All-American basketball player for the basketball team and an All-Big Ten Conference baseball player for the baseball team...
, Hal Newhouser
Hal Newhouser
Harold "Prince Hal" Newhouser was an American pitcher for Major League Baseball who played 17 seasons from 1939 to 1955, mostly with the Detroit Tigers of the American League...
and Dave DeBusschere
Dave DeBusschere
David Albert DeBusschere was an American NBA and major league baseball player and coach in the NBA. In 1996, DeBusschere was named as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history....
. "The 50 Greatest Sports Figures From Michigan," Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, December 27, 1999. He was ranked ahead of many legendary Michigan Wolverines football
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
figures, including Fielding H. Yost (#9), Rick Leach (#22), Fritz Crisler
Fritz Crisler
Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler was an American football coach who is best known as "the father of two-platoon football," an innovation in which separate units of players were used for offense and defense. Crisler developed two-platoon football while serving as head coach at the University of...
(#31) and Harry Kipke (#40).
Kramer died in September 2010 at age 75.
See also
- List of Michigan Wolverines football All-Americans
- 1954 College Football All-America Team1954 College Football All-America TeamThe 1954 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams for the 1954 college football season...
- 1955 College Football All-America Team1955 College Football All-America Team1955 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams for the 1955 college football season...
- 1956 College Football All-America Team1956 College Football All-America TeamThe 1956 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1956...
- 1956–57 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team1956–57 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball teamThe 1956–57 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1956–57 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The team played its home games at Fielding H. Yost Field House on the school's campus in...
- Lists of Michigan Wolverines football receiving leaders
- University of Michigan Athletic Hall of HonorUniversity of Michigan Athletic Hall of HonorThe University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs...