George Kittle's Grandma Should Be in Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame 12/17/2023 - George Kittle's grandma, "Lucky" Krieger made it to her first ever NFL game on January 8, 2023. The crowd sang her "Happy Birthday" as shown in the video below. But did you know that "Lucky" Krieger and her family have had a huge impact on Iowa athletics over the years? I had heard about George's family ties to other Iowa players like Jess Settles and Henry Krieger Coble, but the details were unclear, so I thought I'd do some research. If I missed something or you have additional information, please let me know. There are actually 8 Hawkeye athletes that are connected to Lucky, starting with her 9th daughter (out of 10 daughters), Amy Krieger. She played softball at Iowa and lettered in the 1985 season. Her son is Henry Krieger Coble, who was a standout tight end at Iowa from 2011-2016, and later spent time in the NFL. George Kittle is the son of Lucky's 7th daughter Jan. Jan married Bruce Kittle, who was an offensive lineman and wrestler at Iowa in the early 1980's. They also had a daughter Emma Krieger Kittle, who was a volleyball player at Iowa for the 2009 season before transferring to Oklahoma. But it doesn't stop there. Her 2nd daughter, Mary, had a son named Jess Settles, who was a outstanding basketball player in the mid-1990's. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year (1994), and was All-Big Ten First Team (1996) and Honorable Mention All-American (1996). Her 5th daughter Lori had a son Brad Carlson, who was a standout baseball player at Iowa from 1999-2002, and was a second team All-American and freshman All-American Her 10th daughter Jennifer had a daughter Lou Krieger-Coen, who was on the Iowa rowing team for the 2015-2016 season. Their family has had athletic success at other schools as well. This might be hard to follow, so I created an image to show the connection between the players and parents. Lucky, and her late husband Viven "Bub" Krieger, have had an enormous impact on Iowa Athletics, so much that the two of them should probably be inducted in the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame!