4 Page 10 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 17, 1986 Michigan's man of 10*rLAI 0l Kramer, former star, M f By DARREN JASEY Like a street bum wandering through Jacobson's, Ron Kramer is a startling sight to see in the empty Michigan Stadium press box. "Havea seat my man," says the intimidating 6-3 giant pounding his large fist on the reporter's table Kramer looks more like an old motorcycle guru with his graying beard, faded jean jacket, and black cowboy hat, than the successful business man that he is. He peers intently over the sun-drenched foot- ball field where Bo Schembechler is leading his team through a spring scrimmage. "WELL LOOK at that," bursts Kramer, who has analyzed Michigan football on either radio or TV for the last nine years. "See they're playing the zone defense and it was a good recognition by the tight end plus the quarterback. He got into the seam and it was good blocking up front." Kramer attributes his football knowledge to a pro and college career that stretched from 1955 to 1966. At Michigan, Kramer earned All-America football honors his junior and senior years. He then lived up to his number one selection in the NFL draft in 1957 by becoming the prototype tight end for the Vince Lombardi-led Green Bay Packers of the early 1960s. Kramer also saw time with the Detroit Lions. Kramer considers the time he spent at Michigan acquiring his BA in psychology as a major factor in developing his ability to communicate well. In ad- dition to his radio and TV work, Kramer has been in the steel business since 1960. Kramer's athletic talents extended far beyond the reaches of football. In fact, he earned nine letters in three sports - football, basketball, and track - during his four-year stay at Michigan. AS A 6-3, 230-pound end ("there was no such thing as a tight end then") Kramer caught 53 passes for 880 yards. That's a 16.6 yard per catch average on a Michigan team that passed even less than the Schembechler coached teams of the 1970s. Kramer's accomplishments helped Bennie Oosterbaan's teams win 20 of 27 games during L '* forges i Kramer's three-year stint at Michigan. "We weren't one of the great talented Michigan teams," says Kramer. "They weren't lean years either. As a matter of fact we were in it (the Big Ten race) every year. If we had beaten Ohio State in 1955 we would have finished first - the same situation arose the next year." AT THE time Kramer was considered by Ooster- baan to be the greatest end in Michigan history, but Oosterbaan considered Kramer's blocking and tackling abilities more important to the Wolverines. Kramer also punted 31 times for an average of 40.6 yards, kicked two field goals, and made 43 of 51 ex- tra point attempts. ,innigcareer especially relishes the accomplishments of the 1962 Packer team, when it won 20 of 21 games. "NOT ONLY that, but we won all of our preseason games that year," adds Kramer seriously. "See, we never used to get paid for preseason." Whatever big money Kramer- may have missed out on by finishing his career before the era of big salaries and benefits doesn't bother him. "I have nothing against anyone making as much money as he can as long as they perform up to that expectation," says Kramer, who signed for $20,000 as the number one draft choice in 1957. "Like in basketball when I watch (Larry) Bird play - he is worth every friggin' penny he's paid." "THE PRODUCT is being sold, being promoted, and the thing is that people will buy it at that price." Money is not one of Kramer's bigger worries. The former Paragon Steel vice president recently for- med his own steel brokering company, Ron Kramer Industries, in 1982. He lives in a Bloomfield Hills condominium and drives a maize and blue van that shows off his retired number 87 jersey -number on his spare tire cover. Kramer continues to breathe maize and blue wherever he goes. When he talks about his past career or his current job as color commentator for WTBS in Atlanta, he shines with that Michigan pride. "We have these great traditions at Michigan and I think that's probably the greatest feeling anybody can have whether you're in school as a junior or you' .graduated 29 years ago," says Kramer, lifting his cowboy hat to brush back his thinning dark hair. "I've been all over the world and wherever I go I always find somebody who is maize and blue." Juggling a successful business career and the duties radio and TV color responsibilities seems like a burden, but Kramer is used to the grind. "I don't consider my. business work," says a satisfied Kramer. "Life in general should be a hap- py experience, and if you aren't getting that out of it, well then there's something wrong." The gifted Kramer also starred as a 6-3 center for the Wolverine basketball team. "I wasn't tall but I was mean," says Kramer. His fierce competitive spirit and scoring ability led to his selection as Michigan's Most Valuable Player in each of his three seasons. In the spring Kramer filled his spare time by par- ticipating on the track team, which was coached by Don Canham, Michigan's current athletic director. "I'D COME out here and I would play (football) in spring practice, and then I'd go run track," says Kramer, chuckling at his dedication to athletics. "He was a tremendous competitor and great natural athlete," says Canham. "He combined great ability with aggressiveness and intelligence." Kramer's pro football career peaked during Green Bay's NFL championship years of 1961 and 1962, when he caught 35 and 31 passes, respectively. He earned All-Pro honors both seasons. Kramer -Sports Information Photo Ron Kramer was an outstanding athlete for Michigan in the 1950's. Besides garnering All-America status in football, he was selected MVP of the basketball team and lettered in track. After a successful career in the NFL, he began a new life in the business world. S E M E S T E R s* - , SPORTS OF THE DAILY: Pistol Team on target in tourney I THE WO R L D '4L IS YOUR CAMPUS _ __ Study around the world, visiting Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, India, Egypt, Turkey, Greece and Spain. Our 100 day voyages sail in January and September offering 12-15 transferable hours of credit from more than 50 voyage-related courses. The S.S. UNIVERSE is a 500 passenger American- built ocean liner, registered in Liberia. Semester at Sea admits students without regard to color, race or creed. For details call toll-free (800) 854-0195 or write: Semester at Sea Institute for Shipboard Education University of Pittsburgh, 2E Fbrbes Quadrangle Pittsburgh, PA 15260 April 21-23 Information Table from 10:30 - 3:00 in the fishbowl. Film Presentations each afternoon at 4:30 in the International Center lounge. All faculty and students are cordially invited to attend. By DUANE ROOSE Most teams like to set their sights on first place. The Michigan Pistol Team, however, captured first and second places while gunning down the opposition at the recent Ohio State In- vitational. Michigan's first and second place teams racked up 1171 and 1149 (out of 1500) points, respec- tively, outdistancing OSU, Purdue, Penn State, Vanderbilt, and the Illinois Institute of Technology. Four members placed in individual competitions in the invitational, leading the two squads to their im- pressive finishes. Senior Kevin Aim- sworth, the team captain, took second place in the slow fire, giving him a second place overall finish. Mean- while, senior Tony Perkins captured first place in the slow fire. 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Besides invitational meets like the competition at Ohio State, the pistol team is also participating in a ten week "postal match." In the postal match, the team sends in weekly scores to the host school, Oregon State. At the end of the ten week period, the school with the most points is declared the win- ner. Five weeks into the competition, Michigan is in sixth place. Not onlythas this season been suc- cessful, but Aimsworth feels that next year's team will also do well. Aim- sworth said the return of Perkins and Cho will provide the team with talen- ted seniors. Aimsworth also cited freshman John Hicks as "one of the top five" shooters on the squad this year, who should also do well in the years ahead. Batsmen rained out Yesterday's baseball games again- st Eastern Michigan were rained out, and may be played later in the season. The Wolverines' short vacation ends when they travel to Indiana for weekend Big Ten action. Michigan will be home to face Cleveland State on Tuesday, April22. Tigers for CHICAGO (AP) - Ron Kittle drove in four runs with a three-run homer and a sacrifice fly and Carlton Fisk also homered last night to lead the slump-ridden Chicago White Sox to a 10-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers. The triumph, behind the four-hit pitching of Floyd Bannister, Bill Dawley and Bob James, was only the second in eight games for the Sox and came at the expense of Walt Terrell, 1-1. THE GAME was disrupted in the i Chisox rock Terrell, MBA: Access To Opportunity Information for Minorities The Graduate Management Admission Council Has Information For Black And Hispanic Students About Admission To Master Of Business Adminis- tration (MBA) Programs And Career Opportunities Available With An MBA Degree. Even If You've Never Considered Graduate Man- agement Education, You Should Know That Op- portunities To Enter MBA Programs Are Available To Those With Ability And Interest. The Education Is Challenging. . . And The Results Are Valuable. The MBA: Access To Opportunity, A Free Brochure, Outlines What You Need To Know. The Brochure Is Yours For A Free Phone Call, Or With The Coupon Below: Mail to: Graduate Management Admission Council, 11601 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1060, Los Angeles, CA 90025-1748 I'm Interested. Please send me THE MBA: ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY. 10-41 win seventh inning when a Bannister pitch sailed behind Dave Collins. Collins charged Bannister, 1-1, as both ben- ches emptied, but order was quickly restored. Collins was ejected from the game. Two innings earlier, Detroit's Ran- dy O'Neal had hit John Cangelosi with a pitch. The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the first when Alan Trammell tripled and scored as Darnell Coles grounded out. The White Sox added four in the second. Singles by Joel Skinner and Cangelosi and an infield force by Tolleson produced one run. Baines beat out an infield single and Kittle followed with his first homer of the , season. The Tigers scored a pair of unear- ned runs in the third on a single by Tom Brookens, a walk to Collins and two-base throwing error by third baseman Tim Hulett. Detroit added a run in the fourth on singles by Larry Herndon and Chet Lemon and Brookens' infield out. Rent Car from Econ.,-tar We rent to 19 YR. OLD STUDENTS! Choose from small economical cars to vans. Special WEEKEND rates Pick up services upon request Wa nrrant More people have survived cancer than now live in the City of Los Angeles. We are winning.