A man from Schenectady who made an impact on the court before his career in the courtroom is being remembered.
Barry Kramer starred at Linton High School, where he shared the court with NBA legend Pat Riley. Kramer went on to play for NYU, the Warriors, Knicks and Nets.
Kramer was selected in the first round of the NBA draft by the Warriors in 1964.
He graduated from Albany Law School in 1968 and went on to serve as a Surrogate Court judge in Schenectady. He was elected to the New York State Supreme Court in 2009. 44th district state Senator Jim Tedisco, a Republican who played college basketball at Union, says Kramer was an outstanding player, exemplary scholar, and dedicated public servant.
“And what a lot of people don't know about him, not only a great athlete, not only a great basketball player, high school, played some pro, college," said Tedisco. "A great jurist, a great judge, but he was a very bipartisan individual. In fact, the first time I ever ran for office, one of my first fundraisers was at his house. He was a Democrat. I was a Republican, but he believed in me, he supported me. And above and beyond that, I just have some tremendous memories of our friendship, of putting together a basketball team after he played some tremendous years with the Schaefer brewers.”
Kramer is heard here in a YouTube video recorded when he was inducted into the Capital District Basketball Hall of Fame: “But you know, at every level, you have to make a transition. It's more difficult, and it took me a year or two to get my legs at NYU, and then finally, as a junior, I came into my own, and I scored about some was the second leading scorer in the nation. But I didn't happen overnight, and it really was because of my great training in high school."
Schenectady City School District Athletic Hall of Fame chair Bob Pezzano says Kramer was a humble, special person, a local legend who left a lasting impact on the community. Pezzano says Kramer often thought what his life would have been like had he decided to continue playing pro basketball.
“I'm not sure there are major regrets, but he certainly, I think, would wonder what would have happened. The Knicks went on a bit of a run after that. They were not a special team the year he was with them, necessarily, but the pieces were starting to be put into place. Willis Reed was actually selected after Barry, I believe, in that 1964 NBA draft. And Willis Reed, of course, was an anchor of the two championship teams that the Knicks had. I think Barry would have fit in quite well. He could score the ball. He was a small forward who perhaps would have filled the role going forward, and could have been part of some of those special Knicks teams,” Pezzano said.
Tedisco recalls awarding Kramer the New York State Senate Liberty Medal, the Senate’s highest award for service, upon his retirement in 2018.
"I gave him the New York State resolution, and at that time I called him, which is true, he was a man for all seasons, and he was well appreciated. He'll be very much missed, and as I said, tremendous legacy that he left as an individual, as a public servant, and, of course, as an athlete," said Tedisco.
Kramer died Saturday at age 82.
