even though he waited 45 years it’s kinda sad bc all those people who helped him get there. like him parents, his coaches, possibly his friends are all long gone and it’s a shame that they don’t get to hear him speak and thank them
Why did it take 45 years for this man to get to HOF? I'm a Vikings fan and still wondering why one of the greatest guards all time took this long to be recognized. It's a damn shame!
Met him in 2012 in Warrens, Wisconsin (along with Dave Robinson and Chestor Marcol). Great guy with unbelievable stories to tell. Had time for everyone.
His books were an incredible inspiration to me. I was the perennial 98lb. weakling trying to make the high school football team. Thanks Jerry....made it, 38th out of 40 kids.
Jerry Kramer deserved this so much. I met him at a signing and he let me hold his super bowl ring. Find another player that would do that. Amazing man. Congrats Mr. Kramer
Chooch Kucken john Elliott of the colts was from my hometown and let me put on his superbowl 3 ring. I have big hands but his ring dropped onto my thumb like a ping pong ball into a cup lol.
All us Dallas Cowboys fans know Kramer moved early and got an advantage on Jethro Pugh. Should have been called for a false start. Dallas would have one the Ice Bowl. LOL! Matthew, this was long overdue. No way this great player should have waited this long. It's about time.
And perhaps the one fact that makes him HOF special, beyond his play on the field, was the way he overcame health problems mid-career. Didn't he lose about two full seasons of playing time due to a broken ankle, detached retina and then after-effects of the splinter in the groin incident as a teenager?
Jerry Kramer exemplifies all that is good with a touch of class. He was an integral part of the Packers dynasty of the 1960's. Those teams were all about putting your ego aside and working towards a common cause...Winning! As a 14 year old boy I got to see Jerry Kramer throw the most famous block in NFL history that led to Bart Starr's quaterback sneak in the Ice Bowl and a 21-17 win over Dallas. It was a third consecutive championship for the Pack followed by a 33-14 win against the Raiders in Superbowl II. Jerry was overlooked for a long. long time but he is now where he belongs, in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Congratulations #64 Jerry Kramer!
I read Instant Replay as a kid, and it's an indelible mark on me. This is a great man, cut from the cloth that made America great. That the NFL HoF inducted him in 2018 is about 50 years too late. That's on them, but kids who came up in the 60s and read his book know. God bless Jerry Kramer, Lombardi and the legendary Green Bay Sweep!!!
My dad was a Marine and just returned from Vietnam, he was transferred to Green Bay in 1965, I was in 3rd grade. I immediately became a Green Bay Packers fan and fondly remember to this day Jerry Kramer and all the great men on that team in that era who became my lifelong role models. His speech says it all. God Bless!
Talk about a classy, elegant speech!!! Maybe it was worth him waiting so long. The wisdom and humanity that he displayed in those 20 minutes was breath taking. It elevated everyone who heard it. I was able to watch him play 4 times in my youth. He was/ is my hero. His HOF induction is the icing on the cake. To hear him quote Coach Lombardi is like watching the mason place the cornerstone for the United States Capitol building. Without Coach Lombardi and "that group of guys" modern football, as we know it, might not exist.
Jerry Kramer should have been inducted into the Hall Of Fame YEARS ago!! I'm glad he finally got in! My Dad bought a book called The Green Bay Diary Of Jerry Kramer back in 1968. Very good book. My Dad was an Eagles fan and I'm a Cowboys fan but we both admired the hell out of this guy. Good for him!!
“AT A BOY JERRY!!”-Coach Vince Lombardi,very beautiful speech a beautiful man. Glad you are finally in the hall of fame were you have belonged for so long. Coach Lombardi was there with you and once more believed in you!
Kramer is everything Terrell Owens wasn't and will never be. A teammate, classy and a champion. He made his teams better. He didn't destroy them and damage Coach's and Teammates (QB's) careers.
His speech gave me chills, what an amazing mind. Truly took too long for this excellent football player and man to be inducted. Surely glad it happened, Go Pack Go!🧀
Jerry Kramer was 82 years old in 2018, and he managed to deliver a clear, crisp, inspirational, gracious, and timeless speech that was relevant to everyone in the audience, whether they knew the Lombardi Packers or not. Incredible.
Wow!! What a great speech!! Long overdue this induction was, a little sad that #63 couldn't be there in person, however I'm sure he was in Spirit. It sucks that he had to wait so long. Also many of his teammates that would've been there but have now passed on. Nitschke, Aldridge, Caffey, Jeter, Kostelnik, Jordan,...….Congratulations Mr. Kramer, well deserved.
This man has been a hero of mine since the first time I read Instant Replay. I never understood why this took so long, but I'm glad it finally happened. Well done, Jerry Kramer. Well done.
To all of those people condoning TO skipping the Hall of Fame because he didn't get in when he felt he should've gotten in, please see Jerry Kramer who waited forever and literally limped his BM way into the Hall of Fame. The process was flawed long before TO took the field.
If you read Kramer's book, "Distant Replay," you'll read where every single player from the Super Bowl I (One) team with the exception of one give all the credit to their success not just in football, but in business and life after football to Vince Lombardi.
@@frankromano9064 Mr. Kramer wrote a book called "Distant Replay" which recapped the reunion of the first Super Bowl team to play in the big game. I think the reunion occurred in 1986 in Green Bay. The reception was held at Fuzzy Thurston's bar (naturally :) ) and the local Best Western hotel hosted the event. There was a banquet and auction on Saturday night, followed by a charity golf tournament on Sunday. In the book, Mr. Kramer details every single player of that Super Bowl team and how their lives had turned out after Green Bay and professional football. All except for two players were very successful, and every single player, except for one, credited Vince Lombardi and his life's philosophies and attitudes for helping them succeed. Awesome book, and hard to find--when you can find a copy, it's a bit pricey.
so proud.... and whatta daughter??? follow Alicea on Twitter and saw first hand how she worked so hard for her daddy !!! Congrats to the Kramer Family !!!
Jerry, thank you so much for enriching my life through your humanity, your love of football, and the Green Bay Packers. Your books informed and enriched my formative years. 50 years later, I still love pro football, and the Green Bay Packers. I’m thinking of you today as your old pal and adversary Alex Karras is about to go into the Hall of Fame. I’m sure you are proud for him, and wished he was here to experience. Got Bless you and yours, Jerry. Thanks again, for all the love.
The voting process is so flawed the wrong people voting period!!!! No way this man should have waited this long voting process needs to be changed!!!!!! To hell with sports writers men that played the game need to have more input!!!!!
You have a point about former players being biased but I would rather guys that played the game be critical of me than someone who knows nothing about the sacrifice it took to get there. I can't cook so I can't judge rather a chef is good.
Even though I'm a Vikings fan I have to say that this is was one of the biggest injustices in football...this man should have been in the hall decades ago! Humble man that the players today should study. You choose to do the right thing or you choose to do the wrong thing...great words from a great man!
I grew up as a young lad watching the Green Bay Packers on tv. I can only remember the last 3 years of Kramers career but they were so fun to watch. When Lombardi was hired with Washington I became a Redskin fan because the Redskins were the regional team for eastern NC. Jerry Kramer should have been inducted at least 20 yrs ago. I get it that not many guards get in but look at the impact his play had on the game. Now it's time to get Joe Jacoby in!!
tc g That's not the point, it's about Humbleness, other people were great with good numbers in their position but didn't get first ballot, alot of HOF inductees could have made the same argument in their position if some wanted to, point is he made it he could have mended relationship and peace through an encouraging speech yet he wanted his own shine, to prove a point instead of embracing the moment with fellow teammates....
Jack Wollf yeah according to you, but won't still mean nothing to the H.O.F it will still go on, he just really made it about himself and ppl like you bought into it, instead of really seeing all the Hall of Famers being embraced as Men and Teammates together being Honored...
I am a Tom Landry-era Dallas Cowboys fan, and not once did my team defeat the Pack during Coach Lombardi's tenure there. I hated it then, and my team was pretty good, but obviously Kramer, Starr, Taylor, Nitschke, Caffey, Dowler, Dale, etc, etc, etc from now on😅, were the simply the greatest dynasty in pro football history. CONGRATULATIONS.... Jerry Kramer!!! R.I.P.😢MISTER Bart Starr🏈#15
Congrats to Mr. Kramer...great player and I remember he made the key block for Bart Starr against the cowboys. Long overdue...my pick for a player being left out for no good reason is Donnie Shell Strong Safety...great in run support and great in coverage and he led the league for SS in total interceptions.
It is a sheer travesty that it took 45 years for this man to be inducted to his rightful place. Quite possibly the best offensive lineman, on the best offensive line, on the most dominant football team of all time.
It is a terrible disservice that this great, immortal cornerstone of a true NFL dynasty had to wait so long for his place in the Hall of Fame. A true gentleman of the game at a key often-overlooked non-glamour position. Congratulations, Jerry. From a die hard Bronco fan. God Bless.
A message to TO. Took this man one of the greatest offensive guards to ever play the game 40 plus years to make it into the hall of fame and yet he played on 5 championship teams and was coached by arguably the greatest football coach ever. You never heard Jerry Kramer complain. You my friend are bitching like a baby after not being choice after legible of your first year. Maybe you need to understand what it means to be great. Remember the word character. Then when chosen you decide not to show up. Well this man waited 40 plus years and he showed up.
we were waiting for more than 45 years for this moment , and finally justice has been achieved ¡¡¡¡ what a great moment to witness this induction of one of the greatest of all time. THANK FOR THE MEMMORIES JERRY KRAMER.........
I hope people listened carefully. This is the LAST truly old school NFL'er that will be able to give a HOF speech with this significance. Before the big $$$ from contracts and endorsements, before the agents, and before the ridiculous media hype there was a simpler time with guys just playing the game. The last of his kind to go into the Hall. CLASS ACT !!!
Jerry was my hero!! and always will be. I wanted to be him and followed everything he said and did. I played HS ball for 3 years and did not have it at first, so I quit. Next year I went out and stayed the course, all the time looking in Jerry's direction. My senior year I probably saw the playing field twice and then from the bench. THIS WAS MY MOTTO: I know these guys are better than me, but THEY have to prove it, to ME. I PUSHED ALL THOSE JERKS, STARS, EVERYONE to the point that they hated to see me coming. I challenged them all to be better and only got mixed results. my coaches noticed, though. always wondered why I got paired with people who struggled and only learned why at the football banquet in 1967-1968. Vince Dooley, Head coach at Georgia who helped set out team and support since we were a new school, spoke at our banquet about a guy who joined the Bulldogs for 4 years in Athens and NEVER started a single game (sound familiar) but he came out everyday, ready to play, willing to do what it took to make his team the best they could be. Coach said that that one guy was the one who caused the SEC championship for that season. He didn't complain, fake injury, or hold ANYTHING back, on and off the field. As they were handing out the jackets and letters, Coach Minton Williams introduced me to Coach Williams that I WAS that same guy for OUR team. For the next 4 years, our team won the intercity championship twice, and a AAA state championship, IF YOU EVER THINK SOMEONE DOESN'T NOTICE, OR DOES NOT LOOK AT YOU ALL THE TIME, just do something wrong. You never know where that eye is, but it is always there. SO DANCE EVERYDAY LIKE NO ONE IS WATCHING, EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY BE. WHAT HAVE TO GOT TO LOSE? Thank you to my two favorite coaches. POST SCRIPT: My best friend those HS years was a fellow named Craig Hertwig, 6'7", 205 to 215, three left arms, 3 left feet and one of the most determined football players I knew. Coach Dooley found out about him, (I CAN'T IMAGINE, from where), and took Craig under his wing in Craigs Jr and Sr year. Weight training, Agility training (even to the point of registering him in a Local Arthur Murray Dance studio so he could learn how to control himself, even if he was upside down). Don;t know HOW legal it was but rumor had it that Craig went to summer camp with the Dawg's before put in for GA admission. He made it to GA, joined that team AND WAS A 4 YEAR PERINNIEL all-American player. He left GA and was drafted by the Detroit Lions and spent 10 years in the NFL. He's gone now but he kept is eyes open. R.I.P.
I grew up a Bear fan but i read his book "Instant replay" about 3-4 times. It was his journal of the 1967 season. An intimate look at what it was like to play for the Packers and the great Vince Lombardi.
So long overdue !!! .. so glad your enshrinement finally came.. Your credentials over exceed so many others...Your a great man who deserved this more than so many others and so well deserved... Proud of You !! :)
Long , long overdue. He epitomizes class and integrity. Notice how he does not even mention his block in the ice Bowl or his other achievements such as his 3 field goals against the Giants in the 1962 NFL Championship Game. Atta boy Jerry!!
About 25 years ago maybe 30, I can not remember, I picked up a paper back book at work and looked at the title. It was instant replay by Jerry Kramer. I read it then, read it again and after that about 2 years or more, I read it again. I love this book and I just got a copy (hard back) today from ebay and Im reading it again. I haven't read any of his other books but intend to. If you have not read it, try to find it and look it over. What a guy!!!
Vince Lombardi‘s team in the 60’s is one of the best! They will never be another team love their coach or love their teammates like the Vince Lombardi’s 60’s.
