BY BRETT KRZYKOWSKI
of The (Oshkosh, Wisc.) Northwestern
January 28, 2007
It’s a dangerous thing, pride. Like anything else, when it’s not applied in moderation, it becomes painfully clear why it’s one of the seven deadly sins.
True, there are instances when it’s helpful, even necessary. It can be what drives us to greater accomplishments. That’s often the case when it comes to the rarest of athletes who reach the pinnacle of the football world in the NFL.
But what happens when the whistle blows for the last time? What about those who supposedly are done tearing up their bodies for the greater good of a team striving for that elusive goal?
A lot of the time, those players are forgotten, as is the toll that comes from a lifetime of hurling their bodies about with little regard for what awaits them when their playing days are over.
Green Bay Packers legend Jerry Kramer is one of the lucky ones. He still takes to the woods of Idaho to hunt, visits its waters with fishing poll in hand and can bust the 250-yard mark off the tee thanks to a golfing habit that recently took him to Pebble Beach, where he came in with a sub-40 round on the legendary course’s front nine.
But he knows others from his era weren’t so fortunate. Unlike the stratospheric salaries players pull down today, they don’t have much to fall back on besides their league pension.
After a lifetime of helping charities ranging from the American Cancer Society to Special Olympics, Kramer decided it was time to devote his efforts to a cause that hit much closer to home and helped found the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund.
Little did Kramer know, the events that brought him to that point started years before when he lost his ring from Super Bowl I, which eventually turned up at an online auction house in April of last year. When Kramer went to retrieve it, he used the opportunity to auction off the replica, with the proceeds going to charity.
“I’ve done the Cancer Society and Special Olympics, so many different things,” Kramer said. “Then I thought of the couple of guys who I knew were hurting pretty bad and could have used some help. Then this guy from the auction house steps forward and asks if there was anyone I wanted to help.
“Well, I didn’t have a choice really. I saw it as a chance to help out.”
Kramer knows what a blessing it is to be able to do everything he’s able to, especially after recently reaching his 71st birthday when the averages say a former NFL player probably won’t make it to his 60’s.
Players like Hall of Fame center and Wisconsin native Mike Webster.
Kramer had already been out of the league for a few years when the man also dubbed “Iron Mike” started a career that included 150 straight games at center for the Pittsburgh Steelers and four Super Bowl victories.
But Webster, who passed away in 2002, is almost as well known for his struggles off the field as his accomplishments on it.
Some doctors estimated he had undergone the equivalent of 25,000 car crashes during his career and, as a result, suffered from amnesia, dementia and depression. It got to the point where Webster was often living out of his car, not that many people knew it.
“You look at Mike Webster, and he was asked to do charity stuff all his life,” Kramer said. “He showed up at golf outings and other functions, signed stuff, did all he could, and he was in trouble that whole time.
“Here’s a Super Bowl hero, an all-pro player, and people ask how he’s doing, and he says, ‘Oh, I’m doing great. Everything’s great.’ Then he goes home at night and cries to himself and has to sleep in his van.
“He couldn’t bring himself to tell anyone he was having a difficult time.”
Cases like that aren’t in short supply, including one brought to Kramer’s attention recently regarding a former New England Patriot who was living in a homeless shelter before alumni groups and the Patriots’ organization stepped in to offer assistance.
Help like that is everywhere, Kramer said, but the problem is that an athlete’s mindset gets in the way and prevents them from seeking it. That’s the biggest challenge facing Kramer’s organization, not that he’s going to let that get in the way of doing some good in the very near future.
Despite the fact that the organization had its official launch only recently, its going to make a lot of noise in a big hurry with an online auction during Super Bowl week that features items from some big names, including Kramer’s teammates Paul Hornung and Willie Davis, and other legends like Mike Ditka, Don Shula, Gale Sayers and Archie Manning.
Of course, Kramer was thrilled that so many came forward to offer their assistance. But that generosity might be going to another outlet if not for a lesson today’s players would do well to learn.
Not surprisingly, the timely advice came from his mom, who was alongside the future Packer Hall of Famer when, as Kramer describes it, “some guy who was down and out asked for a quarter.
“My response was typical: ‘Ah, he’ll just get some liquor and drink it away,’ so I went on by. Mom grabbed my arm and said, ‘Whatsoever you do unto the least of them, so also do you do unto me.’ So I turned right around and gave the guy a buck. That kind of upbringing has an effect on you.
“It’s kind of sad to find the problems, find an old teammate who has pneumonia or has to be in special care because they have dementia or Parkinson’s. It’s a sad situation, but it’s great to be able to help out.
“We just want to make sure it all balances out in the long run.”
of The (Oshkosh, Wisc.) Northwestern
January 28, 2007
It’s a dangerous thing, pride. Like anything else, when it’s not applied in moderation, it becomes painfully clear why it’s one of the seven deadly sins.
True, there are instances when it’s helpful, even necessary. It can be what drives us to greater accomplishments. That’s often the case when it comes to the rarest of athletes who reach the pinnacle of the football world in the NFL.
But what happens when the whistle blows for the last time? What about those who supposedly are done tearing up their bodies for the greater good of a team striving for that elusive goal?
A lot of the time, those players are forgotten, as is the toll that comes from a lifetime of hurling their bodies about with little regard for what awaits them when their playing days are over.
Green Bay Packers legend Jerry Kramer is one of the lucky ones. He still takes to the woods of Idaho to hunt, visits its waters with fishing poll in hand and can bust the 250-yard mark off the tee thanks to a golfing habit that recently took him to Pebble Beach, where he came in with a sub-40 round on the legendary course’s front nine.
But he knows others from his era weren’t so fortunate. Unlike the stratospheric salaries players pull down today, they don’t have much to fall back on besides their league pension.
After a lifetime of helping charities ranging from the American Cancer Society to Special Olympics, Kramer decided it was time to devote his efforts to a cause that hit much closer to home and helped found the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund.
Little did Kramer know, the events that brought him to that point started years before when he lost his ring from Super Bowl I, which eventually turned up at an online auction house in April of last year. When Kramer went to retrieve it, he used the opportunity to auction off the replica, with the proceeds going to charity.
“I’ve done the Cancer Society and Special Olympics, so many different things,” Kramer said. “Then I thought of the couple of guys who I knew were hurting pretty bad and could have used some help. Then this guy from the auction house steps forward and asks if there was anyone I wanted to help.
“Well, I didn’t have a choice really. I saw it as a chance to help out.”
Kramer knows what a blessing it is to be able to do everything he’s able to, especially after recently reaching his 71st birthday when the averages say a former NFL player probably won’t make it to his 60’s.
Players like Hall of Fame center and Wisconsin native Mike Webster.
Kramer had already been out of the league for a few years when the man also dubbed “Iron Mike” started a career that included 150 straight games at center for the Pittsburgh Steelers and four Super Bowl victories.
But Webster, who passed away in 2002, is almost as well known for his struggles off the field as his accomplishments on it.
Some doctors estimated he had undergone the equivalent of 25,000 car crashes during his career and, as a result, suffered from amnesia, dementia and depression. It got to the point where Webster was often living out of his car, not that many people knew it.
“You look at Mike Webster, and he was asked to do charity stuff all his life,” Kramer said. “He showed up at golf outings and other functions, signed stuff, did all he could, and he was in trouble that whole time.
“Here’s a Super Bowl hero, an all-pro player, and people ask how he’s doing, and he says, ‘Oh, I’m doing great. Everything’s great.’ Then he goes home at night and cries to himself and has to sleep in his van.
“He couldn’t bring himself to tell anyone he was having a difficult time.”
Cases like that aren’t in short supply, including one brought to Kramer’s attention recently regarding a former New England Patriot who was living in a homeless shelter before alumni groups and the Patriots’ organization stepped in to offer assistance.
Help like that is everywhere, Kramer said, but the problem is that an athlete’s mindset gets in the way and prevents them from seeking it. That’s the biggest challenge facing Kramer’s organization, not that he’s going to let that get in the way of doing some good in the very near future.
Despite the fact that the organization had its official launch only recently, its going to make a lot of noise in a big hurry with an online auction during Super Bowl week that features items from some big names, including Kramer’s teammates Paul Hornung and Willie Davis, and other legends like Mike Ditka, Don Shula, Gale Sayers and Archie Manning.
Of course, Kramer was thrilled that so many came forward to offer their assistance. But that generosity might be going to another outlet if not for a lesson today’s players would do well to learn.
Not surprisingly, the timely advice came from his mom, who was alongside the future Packer Hall of Famer when, as Kramer describes it, “some guy who was down and out asked for a quarter.
“My response was typical: ‘Ah, he’ll just get some liquor and drink it away,’ so I went on by. Mom grabbed my arm and said, ‘Whatsoever you do unto the least of them, so also do you do unto me.’ So I turned right around and gave the guy a buck. That kind of upbringing has an effect on you.
“It’s kind of sad to find the problems, find an old teammate who has pneumonia or has to be in special care because they have dementia or Parkinson’s. It’s a sad situation, but it’s great to be able to help out.
“We just want to make sure it all balances out in the long run.”
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