Curt Kramme, Blaine quarterback in 1978 and Lynden High School coach. Courtesy photo
By Oliver Lazenby
Longtime Lynden High School football coach and Blaine graduate Curt Kramme died after a battle with an aggressive cancer in April 2017, but not before becoming one of the most important figures in Whatcom County football.
His legacy, which includes coaching the Lynden Lions to the playoffs 18 times in 23 years, started with the Borderites. Kramme, a co-captain and quarterback, led Blaine to victory at the King Dome in 1978, making the Borderites the first Whatcom County team to win a state championship.
On Friday, September 14, the Borderites will honor the 40th anniversary of the championship team and retire Kramme’s jersey during a halftime celebration at the Borderites’ home football game against Lynden Christian.
Many players and some coaches, cheerleaders and others involved in the 1978 season will be there as the Borderites retire Kramme’s jersey and present it to his wife.
Though the 1978 season stands as Blaine football’s only state championship, the players involved are more interested in honoring Kramme.
“Curt had this incredible characteristic of service. Service above self,” said his 1978 teammate Dennis Pegram, who helped instigate the event. “We thought it would be so cool if they would retire Curt’s jersey because of the impact he made on the ’78 team and the life he lived as a result of his character.”
Kramme is best known for his time as Lynden’s head coach. He was inducted into the Washington State Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2016, and he led the Lions to seven championships, six of which were between 2006 and his final year of coaching in 2016.
“Those 10 years [led by] coach Kramme were probable the best 10 years of any football program in the state of Washington in any classification,” said current Blaine head coach Jay Dodd. “The way he prepared a team, what they stood for as a team, the life lessons he taught through football, those are all things I learned from him.”
As a Borderite, Kramme was known as a leader, a smart player and a fun person to be around, his teammates said.
With Kramme as playmaker, the 1978 Borderites ran an offense called the triple option – a dynamic attack with three players who could potentially run the ball during any play.
“The triple option offense is really predicated on the ability of the quarterback to make split-second decisions while players are in motion and running around,” 1978 head coach Jack Irion said. “Curt had to be one of the best quarterbacks in the nation at making those kinds of reads. He was phenomenal.”
It didn’t work at the beginning of the season, however. The team started with a 1–2 record and was losing games that, statistically, it shouldn’t have. On a Monday after the third game and second loss of the 1978 season, Irion and his team had a meeting that they now think of as a turning point for the team.
They knew the team had potential.
“It was one of those years where we all meshed; we all had played together for years,” co-captain Darryl Sharp said. “We had heart. Every one of us wanted to win.”
After the meeting, they did. The Borderites won their way to the championship game where they beat Granger 20–7.
Sharp, Pegram and Irion said it’s nice to be recognized for their incredible season 40 years later. But for them, losing Kramme is still painful.
“It was a tough deal for all of us,” Sharp said.
Ask them about the 1978 season and the upcoming celebration and the conversation inevitably turns toward Kramme.
“I take a lot of pride in that season but I realize it had very little to do with me. This is about Curt and what he accomplished.” Irion said. “He was one of those people who, when you got to know him you thought, ‘Boy, if I ever have a son I want him to grow up to be like that kid.’ He was just a great young man.”
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