Kenneth Andrew Kranz (September 12, 1923 – April 8, 2017) was an American

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) football player.

Early life

Born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, Kranz graduated from Custer High School. He played soccer in his freshman year; then football as a center before being switched to halfback for his junior year. He was all-city during his senior year.

College

Kranz began playing football for the Milwaukee State Teachers College (currently known as the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...

), but was drafted into military service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was with the Air Force's troop carrier command in England as a radio operator on aircraft that carried troops into combat zones in France, Belgium and Germany. He earned five battle stars and several medals during his service. Returning to college, Kranz played football for four years from 1945 to 1948 at the Milwaukee State Teachers College. Earning four collegiate letters in football, he also earned three letters in track claiming the conference discus title in 1946. At the age of 26, he became the first UWM player to be drafted to a professional football team.

Pro-Football

The

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

selected Kranz in the 21st round of the

1949 NFL draft The 1949 NFL draft was held on December 21, 1948, at The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. The draft was preceded by a secret draft meeting held November 15, 1948, at the Hotel Schenley in Pittsburgh. This was the third year that the ...

. Kranz played

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the Packers in six or seven games of the 1949 season from April 10, 1949, until the end of the season. At that time he decided on leaving the team to return to school after discussing it with his wife, Shirley. He earned $3,500 for the season.Cliff Christl, "Flashback" ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' November 17, 2004 at C3.

Teaching and later life

Kranz taught for 32 years at Browning Elementary School of

Milwaukee Public Schools Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) is the largest school district in Wisconsin. As of the 2015–16 school year, MPS served 75,568 students in 154 schools and had 9,636 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff positions. The system is one of the largest i ...

, then retired in 1984. He was inducted into the Milwaukee Athletics Hall of Fame in 1975. Kranz died in April 2017 at the age of 93.Kenneth Kranz Obituary
''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', April 11, 2017. legacy.com.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kranz, Ken 1923 births 2017 deaths Players of American football from Waukesha County, Wisconsin Players of American football from Milwaukee American football defensive backs Milwaukee Panthers football players Green Bay Packers players University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni Educators from Wisconsin