Jerry Kramer, Former NFL Player, Author and Sports Commentator to Speak at Paul Hornung Award Banquet
Kramer best remembered for his 11-year NFL career with the Green Bay Packers
January 28, 2015 – Louisville, Ky. – Jerry Kramer, author, sports commentator and all-pro right guard who anchored the offensive line for the Green Bay Packers championship teams of the 1960s, will be the keynote speaker at the fifth annual Paul Hornung Award Banquet, presented by KentuckyOne Health on Feb. 25, 2015, at the Galt House Hotel. Kramer is best remembered for his 11-year NFL career with the Green Bay Packers as an offensive lineman and his signature book, “Instant Replay”.
The Paul Hornung Award, presented by Texas Roadhouse, is given annually to the most versatile player in major college football by the Louisville Sports Commission and Paul Hornung. University of Washington’s Shaq Thompson, a gifted athlete who played linebacker, running back, safety and special teams this season, was named winner of this year’s award. The Louisville Sports Commission and Paul Hornung present the Award to the most versatile player in major college football.
“Kramer had the entire package as a football player,” Paul Hornung said. “He was athletic, smart, tough as nails, worked hard and was a great leader. The Packer dynasty of the 60s was a reflection of how Jerry played the game.”
With Kramer playing right guard as an integral part of the famous “Packer Sweep”, Green Bay won five NFL titles and the first two Super Bowls. He was an All-Pro five times, and a member of the NFL’s 50th anniversary team in 1969.
Kramer also served as the team’s place kicker in 1962, 1963, and part of 1968. As a kicker, he kicked 29 field goals, 90 extra points, for a total of 177 points. He also kicked three field goals and one extra point in the Packers 16-7 victory over the New York Giants in the 1962 NFL title game.
“Instant Replay”, the diary of the 1967 Packers season by Kramer and the late Dick Schaap, is a testament to what can happen when outstanding candor and beautiful writing converge with outrageously fortuitous luck. What begins as an arduous challenge for Kramer to persevere through yet another torturous Vince Lombardi training camp culminates in the Packers’ triumph in the famous Ice Bowl game against Dallas in subzero temperatures on a final-minute Bart Starr quarterback sneak for a touchdown where Kramer threw the key block.
A limited number of tickets to the annual Paul Hornung Awards Banquet presented by KentuckyOne Health are still available. Single tickets are available for $100 each; corporate tables of 10 are $1,500. For more information regarding tickets, contact Julie Howell at 502-587-6742 or jhowell@louisvillesports.org.