In Super Bowl I , Nitschke contributed six tackles and a sack. On December 17, , the Packers traveled to New Orleans to play the Saints at Tulane Stadium for Nitschke's last regular-season game of his career.
Nitschke recorded the only pass reception of his career in this game, a yard gain after a blocked field goal attempt for which he was blocking, and the Packers won the game, Green Bay lost on the road to the Washington Redskins, , in the first round of the playoffs. Nitschke retired during the following year's training camp, in late August Nitschke was known for his strength and toughness.
On September 1st, , a steel coaching tower on the Packers practice field was blown over by a strong gust of wind on top of Nitschke. Lombardi ran over to see what had happened, but when told it had fallen on Nitschke, said, "He'll be fine.
Get back to work! Although Nitschke was known for his hard hitting, he was an athletic all-around linebacker who also intercepted 25 passes over his career.
His No. The only other Lombardi-era player to have his number retired is quarterback Bart Starr , whose 15 was retired in He was followed by Reggie White 92 in and Brett Favre 4 in Also, the team has named one of its two outdoor practice fields "Ray Nitschke Field". He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Every year, the Pro Football Hall of Fame has a luncheon the day before its induction ceremony, attended by most of the living members and honoring the new inductees.
Nitschke always spoke at this luncheon, telling the new inductees what a great honor they were receiving, and that they were now members of the greatest team of them all. Following his death, the Hall named the luncheon after him. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in Finally, in , Nitschke entrenched himself as the starter and from that year through , the Packers' defense never finished lower than fourth in yards allowed. In , after the defense had plummeted to 16th the year before, first-year coach Dan Devine replaced Nitschke in the lineup with Jim Carter.
Nitschke announced his retirement on Aug. In the end, he played 15 years with the Packers, appeared in games and intercepted 25 passes. Born Dec. Given name Raymond Ernest Nitschke. Died March 8, , at age Ray Nitschke was focal point of Packers' dominating defense His name was synonymous with the middle linebacker position Jun 13, at AM. Cliff Christl Packers team historian. Nitschke was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Linebacker: Height: ; Weight: College: Illinois, Related Content.
Travis Williams brought back five kickoffs, one punt for TDs in four years with Packers. He never missed a game in 10 years with Packers. Offensive lineman had utmost respect from teammates, coaches and opponents. His father was killed in a car accident in , and his mother died of a blood clot when Ray was Older brothers Robert Jr.
The loss of both parents enraged Nitschke, and the lack of a parental disciplinarian to quell his rage caused him to engage in fights with other kids in the neighborhood.
He was a poor student and his grades eventually caught up with him as he was declared academically ineligible to play sports his sophomore year. He would lament this embarrassment for the rest of his life.
He succeeded in raising his grades sufficiently enough in his sophomore year to allow him to play sports his junior year, when he had grown significantly to six feet tall. He starred on the varsity football team, playing quarterback on offense and safety on defense for coach Andy Puplis. He played varsity basketball and was a pitcher and left fielder for the varsity baseball team. His baseball skills brought him an offer from the professional St.
Nitschke was also offered scholarships from college football programs around the country. Puplis advised him to accept a football scholarship.
Due to his desire to play at a Big Ten college, with a chance to play in the Rose Bowl, he accepted a football scholarship to the University of Illinois in
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