Quote Originally Posted by Fritz View Post
Man, that is sad. I don't think the youngins understand how different that era was. Players were meat; an asset controlled exclusively by the team that owned him. So they didn't get paid much for the work they did. Heck, I think even in the late 60's and early 70's some of the players still had off-season jobs.
My initial feeling was sadness, too; but apparently this came about not so much from need, but from Kramer wanting to take care of things himself. After just turning 80, he accepted that he wouldn't be here forever. He decided to sell 50 items of memorabilia so others wouldn't have to when he died, and he could do things for his family that would please him while he is still alive. He was selective in what he sold, and did not sell his SB II ring, for example.