That's Just Kramer: From Michigan Legend to Lombardi's "12th Man"

by Ron Kramer, Dan Ewald

Signed hardback book with dust jacket titled THAT'S JUST KRAMER!: From Michigan Legend to Lombardi's "12th" Man by Ron Kramer with Dan Ewald. Signed "Go Blue, Ron Kramer 87" on front endpaper. Published in 2007 by Sports Media Group. Bookseller since 1995 (LL-Sports-1-bottom-L) rareviewbooks

188 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2007

Reviews

[Dan Shonka · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written with the help of a sports journalist, and apparently no editor. While some of the stories of Kramer's athletic exploits are pretty interesting, there's a lot of redundancy. I didn't count them all, but I'm guessing the over/under for similes is 300 1/2. and most of them are not particularly well done. It's great to hear what a big heart Ron Kramer has. But for him to continually talk about the importance of discipline, and then turn right around and talk about his carousing, and even showing up to practice immediately after drinking heavily. . . well, the discipline line loses a lot of credibility. I like that his alarm clock wakes him up with his own voice telling him to get moving and make his bed. Ron Kramer did impact the way the tight end position was played. I don't question the impact of Lombardi on him and his teammates. I will say I found this book difficult to get through, much like Hornung's book, Golden Boy. To me, if you really want to read about the Lombardi years in Green Bay, read the OTHER Kramer's books. Jerry Kramer and Dick Schaap wrote good ones with Instant Replay and Distant Replay. The Lombardi bio, When Pride Still Mattered by David Maraniss. And of course the classic, Run To Daylight. All that said, if you're a die-hard Packer fan, this may help you complete your exhaustive search for all things related to the Golden Age of the Packers. But you really won't learn a whole lot of new tidbits from this book.