GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Recognition for Jerry Kramer isn’t just happening in Canton this weekend.
Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt has declared Saturday, August 4th, Jerry Kramer Day. The downtown bridge lights will also be green and gold for the first time throughout the weekend in his honor. From t-shirts to plaques, pennants, and bobbleheads, the Packers Pro Shop has plenty of ways you can get a piece of Kramer’s big weekend.
“Get it before it’s gone, it’s been going pretty quickly,” said Derek Dimmer, the store’s manager.
“I remember watching him back in his heydays and I thought it was a wonderful thing to watch and he should have gotten the credit a long time ago,” said Robert Martinez of Milwaukee.
One thing you won’t find in stock is a Kramer jersey. However, the Pro Shop has been filling many requests.
“We don’t have any in stock, so we make customs on the fly,” said Dimmer. “It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to make a custom Kramer jersey.”
For fans who wish they were in Canton, Kramer’s new exhibit in the team’s hall of fame might be the next best thing.
“He was just enthusiastic and he gave it everything he had and a perfect gentleman,” said Marlys Lohr of Sheboygan Falls.
The Lohrs say the call to the hall is better late than never.
“I think it’s about time,” said Frank Lohr. “There is no doubt about that.”
That’s the same way Schmitt feels.
“We even we talked about it at the city council. I think we had sent a letter just saying look, Jerry Kramer is worthy of induction into this Pro Football Hall of Fame, so it has been a long wait, but I think that makes it a little more special for him,” said Schmitt.
Jerry Kramer’s jacket ceremony was Friday. His daughter Alicia got to put the jacket on him to culminate a Hall of Fame mission that she spearheaded for years.
“Seeing all those Hall of Famers slap dad on the back and the tears welling up in his eyes as he’s walking through the gauntlet, I can’t trade that feeling for anything in the world,” said Alicia Kramer. “It’s just an amazing time for dad. I’m just so proud of him and how far he’s come throughout his whole life and I can’t even put it into words. It was a very emotional moment, but I felt like we’re here, it’s really real. We’ve done it. Dad, you’re in the hall of fame.”
While there are no organized gatherings in the Green Bay area specifically for Kramer, the Packers are holding their Family Night practice Saturday night. The team hopes to show part of his induction speech at some point during the night.
