SPOKANE, Wash. -- To all future Pro Football Hall of Famers, we call Monday ‘Measurement Monday’ as Sandpoint native and former Vandal star Jerry Kramer gets put through the ringer.
He got his head measured for his future bronze bust, he got sized up for his Hall of Fame jacket. He is a 48-large by the way and he also was having fun with family getting fitted for his Hall of Fame ring. The induction ceremony is on August 4th in Canton, Ohio.
It is a shame that the former Green Bay star had to wait until 82-years-old to receive this distinction. Kramer was first a Hall of Fame finalist in 1974 and had to live another 44 years before he got the coveted knock on his door after 10 straight times of waiting in his hotel room hearing nothing.
The last time Kramer was a finalist was back in 1997. He was spurned by the senior committee once before so he was not holding out hope entering Saturday.
Now when it comes to Kramer's enshrinement into the hall it is important to talk about the bevy of support he has had from the community in Sandpoint, Moscow, Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, as well as the Green Bay faithful who love Kramer for his success during those Vince Lombardi years.
Kramer's daughter Alicia made it a life mission to get her father into Canton and Kramer now becomes the 18th offensive guard ever to enter the Hall of Fame.
His hometown is coming together Sunday to show him some love. Everyone is invited Sunday at 1:00 p.m. to War Memorial Stadium in Sandpoint to take a picture in celebration of Kramer.
Now no one held back on social media to share their appreciation for this moment. The Jerry Kramer 4 Hall of Fame page received thousands upon thousands of likes and all the comments were the same no matter where you looked. Fans writing in saying congrats, they are crying out of happiness, others talking about the $10 they save in stamps because they kept sending letters to the Hall of Fame demanding Kramer gets into Canton. All of this support did not go unnoticed and Kramer reflected on that after his induction Saturday night.
“Joe says, ‘Jerry I want you to know this will reduce my incoming mail by 90 percent. I don't have enough adjectives, I don't have enough words to quantify the attitude and quality of fans and incredible support for 50 years,’” Kramer said.