That's Just Kramer: From Michigan Legend to Lombardi's "12th Man" | 
| Authors: Ron Kramer, Dan Ewald
Publisher: Sports Media Group
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 588785
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 188
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 0.9
ISBN: 1587264331
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.332092
EAN: 9781587264337
ASIN: 1587264331
Publication Date: August 2007
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Shipping: International shipping available
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| Customer Reviews:
An enthralling biography especially recommended for football fans. February 3, 2008
Written by Ron Kramer with newspaper writer Dan Ewald, and comfortably narrated in third person, That's Just Kramer! From Michigan Legend to Lombardi's "12th Man" is the biography of talented athlete Ron Kramer, from his days dominating football, basketball, and track in the University of Michigan, to his time to playing as one of the Green Bay Packers, to choosing his family over his professional career by switching teams and returning home to Detroit, and more. Black-and-white photographs illustrate this down-to-earth chronicle of Kramer's life, career, and passions. An enthralling biography especially recommended for football fans.
The Packers' Other Kramer September 20, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I remember reading the following quote in Sport magazine during the late 1950's:
"In 1957 two Michigan exports splashed across the American scene both accompanied by terrific fanfare. One was an automobile called the Edsel. The other was a tank named Ronald John Kramer."
Dan Ewald , who has written books about such Michigan notables as George Kell, Sparky Anderson, and Bo Schembechler has provided us with an excellent account on the life of Ron Kramer who starred for the Michigan Wolverines, Green Bay Packers, and the Detroit Lions. Kramer credits his family for instilling in him the discipline necessary for his success at Michigan, the college he chose to attend so his parents could see him play. For their inept play in 1956 the Green Bay Packers received a bonus pick in the 1957 draft as the rules then allowed. That choice went for Notre Dame's Paul Hornung. With the first choice in the regular round the Packers chose Michigan's Ron Kramer. A broken leg in his rookie season threatened his career, but the arrival of Coach Vince Lombardi in 1959 revitalized his career as it did for several others on the team. Lombardi saw Kramer as an ideal tight end, his "12th man on the field", because Kramer could both catch passes and block for others. This was a position held by Packer veteran Gary Knafelc who lacked the size and quickness of Kramer. This was a team going nowhere under previous coaches Lisle Blackbourn and Ray "Scooter" McLean yet possessed a number of future Hall of Famers. The differences between them and Lombardi was that Lombardi stressed discipline and preparation. Following the 1964 season Kramer requested a trade to the Detroit Lions so he could be closer to home where he felt he was needed due to family matters. It was either that or retire. Had he remained in Green Bay he would have ended up on five championship teams instead of two and most likely cemented his place in football's Hall of Fame. However, family came before football as Lombardi himself stressed, and the trade was made. The situation on the Lions under coach Harry Gilmer compared with the Packers was significant. The book also deals with his family life after football and Kramer's emphasis on the importance on friendship in one's life. I did find one error in the book. The author twice refers to Fordham's Seven "Rocks" of Granite when it should be Seven Blocks of Granite. There have been numerous books written on former Green Bay Packer players and I'm glad to see one on Green Bay's other star player named Kramer, Ron Kramer. Football fan or not, you should enjoy it.
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