Local legend Jerry Kramer doing book signing

SANDPOINT — 1954 Sandpoint graduate and 2018 Pro Football Hall of of Fame inductee, Jerry Kramer, will be doing a book signing for the book “Run to Win” at Vanderford’s Books (321 North Second Avenue) in Sandpoint on May 18 from 11 to 1 p.m. 

“Run to Win” authored by Kramer with Bob Fox  is the first book put out about Kramer in over three decades, when Jerry and the late, great Dick Schaap put out "Distant Replay" in 1985. Kramer has published four books all-time, of the four, three became bestsellers. 

In the book, Kramer adds commentary about head coach Vince Lombardi, as well as his opinions about a number of his teammates who later were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In addition, several of Jerry’s teammates add their thoughts about playing with No. 64 in the book. 

"Run to Win'' also covers the 44-year period in which Jerry had to wait for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame — even with Jerry being named as the only guard on the first team of the NFL 50th Anniversary Team in 1969. 

The foreword for the book was written by Dick Schaap’s son, Jeremy Schaap of ESPN, who is a 13-time Emmy Award winner and a NYT bestselling author. Jeremy happens to be named after Jerry and is also the godson of Jerry. The introduction of the book was penned by long-time NFL reporter Rick Gosselin. Gosselin is a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and heads the Seniors Committee. He played a role in helping Jerry get a bust in Canton. Gosselin was also one of Kramer’s presenters to the full Hall of Fame Selection Committee, along with Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. 

“Run to Win” also includes a number of blurbs about Kramer from a handful of notable individuals: David Maraniss, Mark Murphy, Bud Selig, David Baker, Tommy Lee Jones, Aaron Rodgers, Vince Lombardi Jr., Bart Starr Jr., Gilbert Brown and LeRoy Butler. The book also reminisces on Kramer’s times with celebrities like Johnny Carson, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Lee Marvin and Kirk Douglas. Speaking of Hollywood, Jerry got to be good friends with Richard Zanuck and David Brown, who produced films like "Jaws" and "The Sting" in the 1970s. The two of them offered Jerry the lead role in one of the top-grossing films in 1973 that they also produced. Jerry turned down that offer, which is pretty ironic, knowing that his two biggest competitors in the NFL, Merlin Olsen and Alex Karras, later went on to become successful actors themselves. 

“Run to Win” can be purchased at Triumph Books (publisher), Amazon, Walmart, Target, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, the Green Bay Packers Pro Shop and the Boswell Book Company in Milwaukee.