Roger Kramer
{{Short description|American-Canadian football player and athlete (1939–2023)}}
{{Infobox Canadian Football League biography
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1939|8|3}}
| birth_place = Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|08|06|1939|8|3}}
| death_place = Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| team =
| number =
| status =
| import = yes
| position1 = Offensive tackle
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 5
| weight_lb = 280
| college = Kalamazoo College
| playing_years1 = {{CFL Year|1962}}
| playing_team1 = Montreal Alouettes
| playing_years2 = {{CFL Year|1963}}–{{CFL Year|1964}}
| playing_team2 = Ottawa Rough Riders
| playing_years3 = {{CFL Year|1965}}–{{CFL Year|1970}}
| playing_team3 = Calgary Stampeders
| career_highlights =
| CFLAllStar = {{CFL Year|1963}}, {{CFL Year|1964}}
| CFLEastAllStar = {{CFL Year|1963}}, {{CFL Year|1964}}
| CFLWestAllStar = {{CFL Year|1967}}
}}
Roger Kramer (August 3, 1939 – August 6, 2023) was an American athlete and professional Canadian Football League (CFL) player who played nine seasons in the CFL for three teams.
Early life
Roger Kramer was born on August 3, 1939 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He attended Portage Central High and Kalamazoo College where he met his future wife, Ilona Krastins.
Biography
Kramer was named CFL All-Star in 1963 and 1964. He played college football at Kalamazoo College from 1957 to 1959.[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TpcuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kKEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3724,1925417&dq=roger+kramer&hl=en Roger Kramer quits grid], The Montreal Gazette, May 21, 1971.
Personal life and death
American actor Eric Allan Kramer was Roger's son.{{cite web |title=My Dad and I fishing in Northern Saskatchewan back in the day when I still believed I had hair on the top of my head... He's still in Canada, in a senior living home now... Hoping I can finally get to travel and see him soon, after a year, now that we're both vaccinated... #wearamask |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CNNxpZoMA1M/?hl=en |website=instagram.com}}{{cite web |title=My father, back when he was on bubble gum trading cards... |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CDKDicojc5d/?hl=en |website=instagram.com}} and remained in Canada following his football career.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}
Roger Kramer died of dementia on August 6, 2023 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, three days after his 84th birthday.{{cite web |title=Instagram insisted on messing up this pic in my post about Dad, so I post it here on {{as written|i|t’s [sic]}} own… This is one of my favorite pics of mom and dad, put in the Calgary newspaper when he played for the Stampeders… The title was “Beauty and the Beast”… :) |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvvv6UcRZOQ/ |website=instagram.com}}{{cite web |title=A few pics to remember the man, my father, who we lost early Sunday morning, my sister and I at his side to help his peaceful passage… His last years were hard, fighting a combination of dementia and a body battered in the trenches of professional football, but dad endured and maintained his sense of humor to the end… He leaves a lifetime of memories and accomplishments too many for a simple post like this… Simply said, he loved his family and friends, was always the biggest man in the room, had a loud and infectious laugh, delighted in a good joke, and was generous, supportive, opinionated and stubborn… And he loved his road trips with our mom who we lost in 2004… Will not be able to pour a glass of red without thinking of him… |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CvvvTSCRzzS/?img_index=1 |website=instagram.com}}{{cite web |title=Roger Allan Kramer 1939 – 2023 |url=https://www.forevermissed.com/roger-allan-kramer/about |website=www.forevermissed.com|accessdate=June 20, 2025}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Roger}}
Category:Players of Canadian football from Michigan
Category:Players of Canadian football from Oklahoma
Category:Calgary Stampeders players
Category:Canadian football offensive linemen
Category:Montreal Alouettes players
Category:Ottawa Rough Riders players
Category:Sportspeople from Kalamazoo, Michigan
Category:Deaths from dementia in Canada
Category:American expatriates in Canada
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