Kenneth Francis Ruettgers (born August 20, 1962) is a former

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

offensive tackle who played 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 club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

from 1985 to 1996.

High school career

Ruettgers attended Garces Memorial High School ( Bakersfield, California) 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 , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

, where he was named to the All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

Conference Team in 1984. He blocked for

Rodney Peete Rodney Peete (born March 16, 1966) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, and Carolina Panthers. He played ...

and Heisman Trophy winner

Marcus Allen Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former 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 line and shor ...

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 draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New York. The league also he ...

(7th pick) by Green Bay where he remained throughout his professional career. He was the Green Bay Packers' 1989 offensive MVP. 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

Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

. 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.

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) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

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

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

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 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 Bak ...

. He received a Ph.D. in sociology from

Oxford Graduate School Omega Graduate School (formerly Oxford Graduate School) is a private graduate school in Dayton, Tennessee. Founded in 1980, the school focuses on integrating faith with traditional educational and professional disciplines. Omega 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 community college in Bend, Oregon. It primarily serves residents of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook Counties. Additionally its district includes portions of Klamath, Lake, and Wasco counties. History Ce ...

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

Wikipedia Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read ref ...

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

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

Personal life

He 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 People from Bakersfield, California People from Sisters, Oregon