By Wisconsin Rapids City Times staff

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Baseball fans in central Wisconsin got to see a Hall of Fame player, but not on the diamond.

Former Green Bay Packer guard Jerry Kramer kicked off a week-long tour of the Northwoods League on June 25, with a stop at historic Witter Field in Wisconsin Rapids for a game between the Rafters and Fond du Lac Dock Spiders.

The appearance was the first of four stops for Kramer this week, as he visits the four Northwoods League ballparks and teams owned and operated by Big Top Sports and Entertainment.

Kramer says he’s still getting used to the moniker “Hall of Famer.”

Kramer spent an hour before the game signing autographs and posing for pictures with fans who bought a VIP package which included a seat to the game, and an autographed photo of the hall-of-fame lineman. Following the VIP session, Kramer threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Jerry Kramer throws out a pitch before the Rafters game against Fond du Lac.
Rapids City Times staff photo

After that, he went back to the autograph table for a public session where fans could have personal Packers items signed. The same schedule will be followed the next three nights. Kramer appears at a Madison Mallards on June 26, followed by a Green Bay Booyah game on June 27, and a Kenosha Kingfish game on June 28.

Kramer was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018, 50 years after his playing career with the Packers ended.