 Ker as CEO of Ker's WingHouse Bar & Grill | |||||||||
| No. 68 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Guard | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1962-05-05)May 5, 1962 (age 63) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 288 lb (131 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Dunedin (FL) | ||||||||
| College | Arizona Western (1981-1982) Florida (1983-1984) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1985: 3rd round, 76th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Crawford Francis Ker (born May 5, 1962) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aguard in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDallas Cowboys andDenver Broncos. He playedcollege football at theUniversity of Florida.
Ker was born inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, and was the only son of George and Anne Ker.[1] His father George immigrated to the United States fromScotland, and had previously served in theBritish Army as aBuckingham Palace guard.[1] When Ker was young, his family moved to Florida, and his father worked several jobs to support the family inDunedin, Florida; running a lawn service during the day and working at a convenience store at night. After school, and during weekends and summers, Ker followed his father's steps with his work ethic.[1]
In the mid-1970s, George managed the kitchen at a sports restaurant inClearwater, Florida, where Ker worked as abusboy while he was in high school.[1] During school semester breaks and vacations, he also waited tables and cooked in the kitchen.[1]
Ker attendedDunedin High School in Dunedin.[2] During his junior year in high school, he decided to become a professional football player.[1] He had not played high school football before his junior year, but he started working out; after beginning high school at 145 pounds, he bulked up to 210.[1]
As a senior, he was named All-Conference and the Dunedin Falcons football team won aPinellas County championship, but noDivision I football programs recruited him to play college football. He graduated in 1980, but he wanted to play at a big school to improve his chances of being drafted in the NFL, so he worked out during the first year after graduation, adding another fifty pounds to his six-foot, four-inch frame.[1]
On the advice of a friend, Ker called the football coach atArizona Western College who invited him towalk-on to the football team.[1] As a sophomore, he was recognized as ajunior college ("JUCO")All-American in 1982.[1]
TheFlorida Gators football coaches were convinced of Ker's talent and offered him a football scholarship to attend theUniversity of Florida for his last 2 years of eligibility in1983 and1984.[3] Ker's nickname among his Gators teammates was "Big Daddy," and he could bench-press up to 515 pounds making him one of the strongest players in college football.[1]
He played two years for coachCharley Pell and coachGalen Hall's Florida Gators football teams. As a senior, he was a starter atright tackle on the Gator's 1984 squad that, at the time, was considered the finest Gators football team ever. The Gators' outstandingoffensive line was called "The Great Wall of Florida," and included Ker, Phil Bromley,Lomas Brown, Billy Hinson andJeff Zimmerman.[4]
Behind theblocking of Ker and his Great Wall teammates, the Gators' quarterbackKerwin Bell,fullbackJohn L. Williams andhalfbackNeal Anderson led the Gators to a 9–1–1 overall win–loss record and won their firstSoutheastern Conference (SEC) championship with a conference record of 5–0–1.[5] He was recognized as a second-team All-SEC selection and an honorable mention All-American following the 1984 season.[3]
Ker was selected by theDallas Cowboys in the third round (76th overall) of the1985 NFL draft, as part of a change in theoffensive line philosophy, when the team started to value size and strength over speed and athletic ability.[6][7] He also was selected by theTampa Bay Bandits in the1985 USFL Territorial Draft.
He was moved toguard, but only played five games as a 23-year-oldrookie, after being placed on theinjured reserve list with a back injury on October 23.
In1986, he was named the starter atright guard after Kurt Petersen suffered a season ending left knee injury early intraining camp. In1990, he was switched toleft guard to replaceNate Newton, who was moved toright tackle.[1]
Ker became the Cowboys' highest-paid offensive lineman,[1] and started in eighty-six of the Cowboys' ninety-one regular season games from1986 to1990.
On March 27,1991, he was signed inplan B free agency by theDenver Broncos. He was placed on theinjured reserve list during the1991 pre-season and later started 10 games after being activated. He was waived on July 9,1992.[8]
On August 20,1992, he signed with theDetroit Lions.[9] He was released on August 27 and retired.[10]
