Ray Nitschke
circa 1966
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| No. 66 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Middle linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | December 29, 1936 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Elmwood Park, Illinois | ||||||||
| Date of death: | March 8, 1998 (aged 61) | ||||||||
| Place of death: | Venice, Florida | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 235 lb (107 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Maywood (IL) Proviso East | ||||||||
| College: | Illinois | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1958 / Round: 3 / Pick: 36 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Interceptions: | 25 |
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| Interception yards: | 385 |
| Touchdowns: | 2 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Raymond Ernest Nitschke (December 29, 1936 – March 8, 1998) was a professional American football middle linebacker who spent his entire 15-year National Football League (NFL) career with the Green Bay Packers. A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he was the anchor of the defense for head coach Vince Lombardi in the 1960s, leading the Packers to five NFL championships and victories in the first two Super Bowls.
Born in Elmwood Park, Illinois, Nitschke was the youngest of three sons to Robert and Anna Nitschke. His father was killed in a car accident in 1940, and his mother died of a blood clot when Ray was 13. Older brothers Robert Jr. (age 21) and Richard (age 17) decided they would raise Ray on their own.
Nitschke entered Proviso High School in Maywood shortly before his mother's death. 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. During his freshman year at Proviso, he played fullback on one of the school's three football teams. 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. Louis Browns with a $3,000 signing bonus. 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 1954.
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