Crawford Ker

Crawford Francis Ker (born May 5, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. He played college football at the University of Florida.

Early life

Ker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was the only son of George and Anne Ker. His father George immigrated to the United States from Scotland, and had previously served in the British Army as a Buckingham Palace guard. During his junior year in high school, he decided to become a professional football player. 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.

Behind the blocking of Ker and his Great Wall teammates, the Gators' quarterback Kerwin Bell, fullback John L. Williams and halfback Neal Anderson led the Gators to a 9–1–1 overall win–loss record and won their first Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship with a conference record of 5–0–1. He was recognized as a second-team All-SEC selection and an honorable mention All-American following the 1984 season. He also was selected by the Tampa Bay Bandits in the 1985 USFL Territorial Draft.

He was moved to guard, but only played five games as a 23-year-old rookie, after being placed on the injured reserve list with a back injury on October 23.

In , he was named the starter at right guard after Kurt Petersen suffered a season ending left knee injury early in training camp. In , he was switched to left guard to replace Nate Newton, who was moved to right tackle.

Detroit Lions On August 20, , he signed with the Detroit Lions. He was released on August 27 and retired.