A behind-the-scenes superstar for Free Press Sports dies at 89

For Detroit Free Press readers of a sure age, Ken Kraemer was an unknown however essential cog in delivering their every day sports activities repair.

To his friends, from the mid-Nineteen Fifties to the early 2000s, Kraemer was “an old school, big-hearted, hard-nosed traditional,” “a professional’s professional” and “considered one of a form” with “excessive requirements with a low tolerance for BS,” in accordance with quite a few tributes on social media.

Kenneth Lee Kraemer, born in 1936 and raised on Detroit’s east facet, labored for the Free Press for greater than forty years. Practically his complete profession was spent within the sports activities division, though he began as a replica boy and ran errands whereas in school, reviewed a Beatles live performance and labored for some time on what have been then referred to as the ladies’s pages, as the one man on that workers.

Kraemer died on November 7 on the age of 89 after a sequence of well being issues, surrounded by his household at his dwelling in Warren. In lieu of direct companies, a celebration of life can be held in January.

Kraemer’s title not often appeared in print—a number of years solely in a sports activities workers record that accompanied Dick Mayer’s annual Christmas drawing, which was created by artistically arranging the names of outstanding sports activities figures within the form of Santa Claus or Rudolph or one thing festive. However for greater than thirty years, Kraemer was instrumental in guaranteeing that the Free Press arrived each morning on the door, in a comfort retailer or in a field on the road, and in later years instantly on freep.com.

He held quite a lot of titles over time – usually assistant sports activities editor – however no matter his title, in every of his shifts, all the time working nights and weekends, he carried a lot of the burden of guaranteeing Free Press readers received the very best sports activities part. He was current in any respect the most important occasions and about 8,000 routine evenings that have been nonetheless a race towards time with a variety of stress and 4 deadlines.

By means of all of it, Kraemer was capable of finding issues that introduced out his infectious chuckle, blended with a brief fuse that appeared to make his purple hair shine brighter, and an intensive vocabulary for phrases that could possibly be printed in a household newspaper and phrases that could not.

“I will all the time bear in mind Ken because the deadline approached,” recollects Dave Robinson, sports activities editor from 1985-93. “He could possibly be just a little tense and gruff, however I rapidly realized he was simply hyper-focused on getting the whole lot proper for the Detroit sports activities followers. Simply earlier than the deadline, he pressed the button, breathed a sigh of reduction, after which got here out with a smile. One other job properly executed.”

For the primary half of his profession, Kraemer principally served as “the slot,” the one who oversaw the manufacturing of the day’s sports activities part, laying out pages, speaking to sportswriters and supervising the ultimate product. For the second half of his profession, Kraemer served as editorial director, overseeing a crew of editors and guaranteeing high-quality writing and correct tales and headlines regardless of the warmth of deadlines.

“I by no means thought he was destined for an extended life beneath the nightly strain he needed to endure,” mentioned Invoice McGraw, who was elected to the Michigan Journalism Corridor of Fame after an extended profession on the Free Press as an editor, metro reporter, columnist and sportswriter who lined the Purple Wings and the 1984 Tigers for years. “Ken was a legend, a weirdo, a expertise and a very good boss.”

Kraemer’s eyes have been usually the final to learn a narrative earlier than it went to print. And he knew this: Each story may include errors, and it was the copy desk’s job to seek out and proper them. A reputation could also be misspelled. A statistic may be improper. Deadlines needed to be met day-after-day and generally reporters had little time to file studies.

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Kraemer tried to confirm the whole lot — he carried a suitcase stuffed with workforce media guides — and he handed that zeal on to the youthful editors who adopted his management.

He additionally had a bonus on this regard: He was a Detroiter who graduated from the previous Japanese Excessive and Wayne State College and spent his complete life within the space, excluding a stint within the U.S. Military after school, and he knew the state of affairs of sports activities groups in Detroit.

Kraemer was a younger man when the Lions and Purple Wings received a number of championships within the Nineteen Fifties. He labored for the Free Press when the Tigers received the 1968 World Sequence, and he was nonetheless on the paper when the Pistons received back-to-back NBA titles in 1989-90 and the Wings received back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1997-98.

Kraemer acknowledged the celebs who made this potential – Gordie Howe, Bobby Layne, Al Kaline, Isiah Thomas, Steve Yzerman – and the lesser-known contributors.

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Earlier than smoking was banned within the Free Press workplaces within the mid-Nineteen Eighties, Kraemer labored at a breakneck tempo with a cigarette and an ashtray close by — assume previous newsrooms in black-and-white movies — and there have been moments when he could possibly be fleeting amid the noisy chaos. Because the workday became the evening, video games blared from the TV and radio, the telephones rang incessantly, and prep scores have been shouted all through the workplace.

“Earlier than computer systems, we had to make use of typewriters,” recollects Mick McCabe, a longtime prep reporter who has been inducted into the Michigan Sports activities Corridor of Fame and the Michigan Journalism Corridor of Fame. “Ken typed with such depth that it appeared as if he was offended with the typewriter as a result of he was certain it will punish the keys. He was the identical method with pc keyboards. After all, he was nicknamed the Massive Purple Monkey by Hal (Swami) Schram.”

The Rock usually stayed in Kraemer’s sales space earlier than retiring in 2001. It was introduced by acclamation as a punishment when a sports activities official made an inappropriate remark or a joke in unhealthy style. Utilizing the identical shift, Kraemer may break up his crew with a well-timed deadpan line:

“You are a good editor (insert title), however you watch the clock an excessive amount of.”

“It comes as no shock to this seasoned observer…”

“What’s worse than monitor and discipline? Area.”

“Ask if my home is on fireplace. If not, inform her I am on deadline.”

“Some persons are born logged out.”

As he grew older, Kraemer mellowed and complained about a few of his previous outbursts. He additionally laughed about the truth that a automobile was stolen eight instances in downtown Detroit.

“Kraemer was the guts and soul of the Free Press sports activities division,” mentioned longtime editor Tim Marcinkoski. “He liked his job… and hated ice storms.”

To his core, Kraemer was a very good man, liked by his colleagues for making them chuckle, for uplifting them to do their finest work and for doing his job to the hilt for many years. And as a person who liked his spouse of 65 years, Bernie. The vainness tag on their automobile learn their many years of affection: 2UVAKND (two of a form).

Along with Bernie, Kraemer is survived by sons Daniel Kraemer of Livonia; Scott Kraemer, of Fenton, and Brian Kraemer, of Denver, and grandson Judah Kraemer, of Denver.

Particular author Owen Davis contributed to this report.

Contact Gene Myers at gmyers@usatodayco.com. He began working with Ken Kraemer on the Free Press in 1983 proper after school. Ten years later, Myers grew to become sports activities editor, and Kraemer served as his assistant sports activities editor accountable for the copy desk till his retirement in 2001. Myers retired from the helm in 2015, however retired in 2024 to coordinate books and web page prints on the USA TODAY Community. Current books and web page prints to take a look at on the USA TODAY Network together with a guide concerning the Tigers’ one hundred and twenty fifth anniversary and a web page print of Tarik Skubal’s newest Cy Younger Award.

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