2025-J981
Senate Resolution No. 981
BY: Senator TEDISCO
PAYING tribute to Barry Kramer upon the occasion
of being honored as part of a special Memorial
Tribute during the 27th Annual Schenectady City
School District Athletic Hall of Fame and Reunion
Dinner on September 15, 2025
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize and
pay tribute to those outstanding athletes who inspired and brought pride
to their school and community through outstanding achievements in
competition, attaining unprecedented success and the highest level of
personal achievement; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to pay
tribute to Barry Kramer upon the occasion of being honored as part of a
special Memorial Tribute during the 27th Annual Schenectady City School
District Athletic Hall of Fame and Reunion Dinner on Monday, September
15, 2025, at the Event Center at Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady,
New York; and
WHEREAS, Excellence and success in competitive sports can be
achieved only through strenuous practice, teamwork, and team spirit,
nurtured by dedicated coaching and strategic planning; and
WHEREAS, Barry Kramer was born on November 10, 1942, in the City of
Schenectady, and attended Linton High School where he played three years
of varsity basketball coached by Schenectady City School District Hall
of Famer Walt Przybylo; and
WHEREAS, Barry was named the 1960 Schenectady County Player of the
Year and was a First Team Parade All-American, scoring 1,003 career
points, and in addition to all his basketball accolades; Barry set the
Section II high jump record (6'4") his senior year; and
WHEREAS, Following his graduation from Linton High School in 1960,
Barry Kramer decided to continue his basketball career by accepting a
basketball scholarship to Division I New York University (NYU), where he
averaged 29.3 points per game (2nd best in the nation) and was selected
First Team AP All-American during his junior season in 1963; and
WHEREAS, Barry Kramer played in two NCAA Tournaments, scoring 34
points vs. Duke in an NCAA East Regional Semi-Final game; and
WHEREAS, Barry Kramer holds several NYU records and was given the
school's highest honor for scholar-athletes being inducted into the
university's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981; and
WHEREAS, Barry Kramer's 29.3 scoring average in the '62-'63 season
remains on top of the NYU record books along with total free throws made
(235) and consecutive free throws made (24) in a single season; and
WHEREAS, Barry Kramer was a first round NBA draft pick of the San
Francisco Warriors in 1964 (8th overall selection) and split the 1964-65
season between the Warriors and the New York Knicks; and
WHEREAS, While with the Warriors, Barry Kramer played with Wilt
Chamberlain, Nate Thurmond, Guy Rodgers and Al Attles, and with the
Knicks, Willis Reed and Tom Gola; and
WHEREAS, Following the 1964-65 season, Barry Kramer enrolled at
Albany Law School, where he graduated second in his class and obtained
his Juris Doctor in 1968; and
WHEREAS, After his basketball career, Barry Kramer forged a stellar
legal career serving as Schenectady County Surrogate's Court Judge from
1993 to 2009, and then joined the New York State Supreme Court in 2010
where he remained until his retirement in 2018; and
WHEREAS, Additional accolades for Barry Kramer include the
Schenectady City School District Athletic Hall of Fame (1999), being
part of the inaugural class of the Capital District Sports Hall of Fame
(2003), a member of the Capital Region/Upstate New York Basketball Hall
of Fame (2009), and a member of the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
(2014); and
WHEREAS, Barry Kramer passed away on January 4, 2025, with his
loving family by his side, and is remembered fondly by all those who
were fortunate enough to be a part of his life; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
pay tribute to Barry Kramer upon the occasion of being honored as part
of a special Memorial Tribute during the 27th Annual Schenectady City
School District Athletic Hall of Fame and Reunion Dinner; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the family members of Barry Kramer.