Kenneth Francis Ruettgers (born August 20, 1962) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

for 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 ...

of the

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) from 1985 to 1996. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

. He was inducted into the

Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame is a team-specific hall of fame honoring players, coaches, executives and other contributors to the history and success of the Green Bay Packers, an American football team in the National Football League (NFL). ...

Early life

Ruettgers attended

Garces Memorial High School Garces Memorial High School, commonly shortened to Garces High School, is a Catholic high school in Bakersfield, California. The school offers college prep, honors, and Advanced Placement (AP) courses in many subjects. As a Catholic institution, ...

(

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

) and was a good student and a standout in football. His two younger brothers, Steven and Paul, graduated from Garces Memorial as well, while his younger sister Laura Jane Ruettgers graduated from Highland many years later.

College career

Ruettgers played college football at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, where he was named to the All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

Conference Team in 1984. He blocked for

Rodney Peete Rodney Peete Sr. (born March 16, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans, earning first-team All-American honors in 19 ...

and

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

winner

Marcus Allen Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal li ...

Professional career

After graduating from USC, Ruettgers was drafted in the first round of the

1985 NFL draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The NFL draft, draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985 NFL season, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New ...

(seventh pick) by Green Bay where he remained throughout his professional career. He was the Green Bay Packers' 1989 offensive

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

. He began the 1996 season on the Physically Unable to Perform List. He was activated after four games, but injuries had taken their toll and he could not finish the season. In December 2013, Ruettgers was named as an inductee into the

. The induction ceremony took place on July 19, 2014, at the Lambeau Field Atrium. He became the 150th member to be inducted into the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame, along with

Ahman Green Ahman Rashad Green (; born February 16, 1977) is an American former professional football running back who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, earning second-team All ...

Post football

After a successful career in the NFL, Ruettgers moved to Oregon. After a brief stint in the publishing industry, he founded GamesOver.org, a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

group dedicated to help former professional athletes cope with the stresses of retirement. Ruettgers has a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in business administration from USC's

Marshall School of Business The USC Marshall School of Business is the business school of the University of Southern California. It is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. In 1997 the school was renamed following a $35 million donation fr ...

, and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

California State University, Bakersfield California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB, Cal State Bakersfield, or CSU Bakersfield) is a public university in Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1965 as Kern State College and officially in 1968 as California State College Ba ...

. He received a Ph.D. in sociology from Oxford Graduate School in Dayton, Tennessee, in 2007. Later, he began teaching sociology classes part-time at

Central Oregon Community College Central Oregon Community College is a public community college in Bend, Oregon. It primarily serves residents of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook Counties. Its service district also includes portions of Klamath, Lake, and Wasco counties. His ...

. Students found out that he had been a football player when they found his

Wikipedia Wikipedia is a free content, free Online content, online encyclopedia that is written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki. Founded by Jimmy Wales and La ...

entry. He has also begun coaching football at a local high school in

Sisters, Oregon Sisters is a city in Deschutes County, Oregon, Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,038 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The community takes its ...

Personal life

Ruettgers is married with three children. His oldest son, Matthew, died in a motorcycle accident in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruettgers, Ken 1962 births Living people American football offensive linemen USC Trojans football players Green Bay Packers players Players of American football from Bakersfield, California People from Sisters, Oregon Garces Memorial High School alumni Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame