Crawford Ker

Crawford Ker

refer to caption

Ker as CEO of Ker's WingHouse Bar & Grill
No. 68
Position: Guard
Personal information
Date of birth: (1962-05-05) May 5, 1962
Place of birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight: 288 lb (131 kg)
Career information
High school: Dunedin (FL)
College: Florida
NFL Draft: 1985 / Round: 3 / Pick: 76
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 92
Game started: 85
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Crawford Francis Ker (born May 5, 1962) is an American former college and professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons during the 1980s and early 1990s. Ker played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Dallas Cowboys and the Denver Broncos of the NFL. He is the Founder of a chain of restaurants and sports bars, the WingHouse Bar & Grill located throughout Florida as well as the owner of The Beachview Hotel in Clearwater, Florida.

Early years

Ker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,[1] and was the only son of George and Anne Ker.[2] His father George immigrated to the United States from Scotland, and had previously served in the British Army as a Buckingham Palace guard.[2] When Ker was young, his family moved to Florida, and his father worked several jobs to support the family in Dunedin, Florida; running a lawn service during the day and working at a convenience store at night. After school, and during weekends and summers, Ker followed his father's steps with his work ethic.[2] In the mid-1970s, George managed the kitchen at a sports restaurant in Clearwater, Florida, where Ker worked as a busboy while he was in high school.[2] During school semester breaks and vacations, he also waited tables and cooked in the kitchen.[2]

“ It's hard to believe. He was a skinny kid. I mean, he got a ribbon for the high jump. Other guys were worried about girls, he was in the gym working out. I think Crawford went into football in order to make things easier for his dad. It was a means to an end. ”
— Anne Ker, on why her son Crawford Ker decided
to become a professional football player.[2]

Ker attended Dunedin High School in Dunedin.[3] During his junior year in high school, he decided to become a professional football player.[2] He had not played high school football before his junior year, but he started working out; after beginning high school at 145 pounds, he bulked up to 210.[2] During his senior he was named All-Conference and the Dunedin Falcons football team won a Pinellas County championship, but no Division I football programs recruited him to play college football. Crawford graduated from Dunedin High School in 1980, but didn't want to attend a small college; he wanted to play at a big school to improve his chances of being drafted in the NFL.[2] He worked out during the first year after graduation, adding another fifty pounds to his six-foot, four-inch frame.[2]

College career

On the advice of a friend, Ker called the football coach at Arizona Western College who invited him to Yuma, Arizona.[2] His father purchased a one-way airline ticket to Arizona for Ker.[2] Ker played at Arizona Western for two years and was recognized as a junior college ("JUCO") All-American in 1982.[2]

The Florida Gators football coaches were convinced of Ker's talent and offered him an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida for his junior and senior years in 1983 and 1984.[4] Ker's nickname among his Gators teammates was "Big Daddy," and he could bench-press up to 515 pounds making him one of the strongest players in college football.[2] He played two years for coach Charley Pell and coach Galen Hall's Florida Gators football teams, and, as a senior, he was on the Gator's 1984 squad that, at the time, was considered the finest Gators football team ever. The Gators' outstanding offensive line was called "The Great Wall of Florida," and included Ker, Phil Bromley, Lomas Brown, Billy Hinson and Jeff Zimmerman.[5] Behind the blocking of Ker and his Great Wall teammates, the Gators' quarterback Kerwin Bell, fullback John L. Williams and halfback Neal Anderson led the Gators to a 9–1–1 overall win-loss record and won their first Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship with a conference record of 5–0–1.[6] Ker was recognized as a second-team All-SEC selection and an honorable mention All-American following the 1984 season.[4]

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys selected Ker in the third round (76th overall) of the 1985 NFL Draft.[7] Because of a back injury, he only played five games as a 23-year-old rookie in 1985.[1]

Ker was the starting right guard from 1986 to 1989 and the starting left guard in 1990. He became the Cowboys' highest-paid offensive lineman,[2] and started in eighty-six of the Cowboys' ninety-one regular season games from 1986 to 1990.[1]

Denver Broncos

After Cowboys head coach Tom Landry retired, Ker signed in plan B free agency with the Denver Broncos on March 27, 1991. He was placed on the injured reserve list during the 1991 pre-season and eventually started 10 games after being reactivated. He was waived on July 9, 1992.[8]

Detroit Lions

On August 20, 1992, he signed with the Detroit Lions.[9] He was released before the start of the 1992 season and retired.[10]

Personal life

Ker is the founder of Ker's WingHouse Bar & Grill, a Florida-based chain of restaurants and sports bars in which he sold in 2014 for an undisclosed amount. He is currently President of Ker Holdings, LLC and owner of The Beachview Hotel located in Clearwater, Florida. Crawford lives in Clearwater with two daughters and a son.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Crawford Ker. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Kelley Benham, "A wing and a player," St. Petersburg Times (July 15, 2005). Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  3. ↑ databaseFootball.com, Players, Crawford Ker. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  4. 1 2 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine., University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 87, 96, 98, 183 (2011). Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  5. ↑ Norm Carlson, "Norm Carlson Looks Back . . . The Great Wall," GatorZone.com (September 11, 2003). Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  6. ↑ The title was later vacated by the SEC university presidents because of NCAA rules violations committed by Charley Pell and the Gators coaching staff between 1979 and 1983, before Ker's arrival in Gainesville.
  7. ↑ Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History, 1985 National Football League Draft. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  8. ↑ http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-07-09/sports/1992191134_1_15-day-dl-chicago-cubs-assistant-basketball-coach
  9. ↑ http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-08-21/sports/9203160438_1_len-fontes-mike-utley-eric-andolsek
  10. ↑ "Transactions, " New York Times (August 28, 1991). Retrieved July 23, 2010.

Bibliography

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