I know I hit him hard and he hit me hard, and I think that's where it should be left.". He proved to be a very skilled player and tackler as a linebacker, so much so that, by his senior year, Paul Brown considered him the best linebacker in college football. [2], His No. Mean In The Middle smiled down from heaven as the Green Bay Packers were about to win the Super Bowl. Actor: The Longest Yard. The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica. We stopped at a service station and I went in for water and a soft drink. 5 overall. It wasnt just the All-Pro honors or the five championships that made Nitschke great. Nitschke also made the NFLs 75th and 100th anniversary rosters. He intercepted 25 passes and ran two of them back for touchdowns, and also recovered 20 fumbles. That becomes a most profound reality. There are too many guys who think it was a privilege for the league to have them., That was years and years ago, but I can hear him say it like it was yesterday. But along the way, Nitschke became an all-around athlete, and turned down a $3,000 bonus from baseballs St. Louis Browns to accept a football scholarship to Illinois. He'd play cornerback. "In the heat of competing against each other, things like that happen. If you don't like it go to the Canadian Football League. While at Illinois, Nitschke smoked, drank heavily, and fought at the drop of a hat. However, he was chosen by the Green Bay Packers late in the third round (36th overall) of what is considered the greatest draft in the franchise's history. A lot of times we had to guide him into the huddle. Nitschke started to feel sharp chest pains during the drive, and he pulled over to a nearby rest stop. He is from USA. At 62 years old, Ray Nitschke height No matter how much he was bleeding, he wouldnt leave the game. Ray Nitschke Enshrinement speech. if everything could be upended in one morning like that, maybe someday I'll wake up another day and everything gets flipped back the way it should be just as suddenly. Ray wanted everybody to know were all equal. On July 2, 1973 he told me and Fortin, that a metal tower on the Packers practice field fell over on top of him. Ray Nitschke was 6 ft 3 inches, 235 lb (1.90 m, 106 kg). I had the pleasure of meeting him when I was younger before he passed. He appeared in the comic film Head, starring The Monkees, as a footballer who repeatedly tackles Peter Tork in a mock war movie sequence. He was probably remembering another Coach Lombardi quote: There is no room for second place. I said, 'I admit I'm a dumb farm kid who just got back from milking cows, how does this process work? The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of ?? With his bald head, horn-rimmed glasses and impeccable attire, he could have passed for a business executive or a college professor. MILWAUKEE (AP) _ Ray Nitschke, the bald-headed, tough-as-nails linebacker on Vince Lombardi's title teams of the 1960s, will be remembered for his off-the-field kindness as much as his dominating play, friends say. Encyclopdia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them. 66 in the open field. I'm drying off and he's four, five lockers away and he's drying off. Image courtesy of "Champion" trailer. He was a wonderful human being. So we ran the slip block where Bowman would block the defensive tackle and I'd slip and block the middle linebacker. He taught us proper technique: pulling, how to come off the ball. Ray Nitschke's life was the embodiment of the power of love, the power of family, and the power of an individual to transform himself into a better person. So it was a volatile relationship.. [27] Jackie was unable to have children, so they adopted three: John in 1963, Richard in 1966, and Amy in 1972. He recorded the only pass reception of his career, a 34-yard gain after a blocked Packer field goal attempt, and they won 3020 to finish at 104, their best regular season record since 1966. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. So I started beating him down and they didn't pull me off of him until I had him on the ground. Ray Nitschke won two Super Bowl championships. Ray Nitschke, according to Hall of Fame quarterback and teammate Bart Starr, was a "classic example of Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde." Off the field he was a thoughtful caring person. Zeke was really good and he's sitting on the bench. He'd get in the huddle and he doesn't know where he is. "I loved playing the Bears. He played for 15 seasons before retiring in 1972. Lombardi, as most ole football followers knew or are learning from a recent Broadway production, was a screamer and a drill sergeant as the Packer coach. Ray Nitschke was born in Elmwood Park, Illinois. Of ballcarriers, he said: "I don't intend that he'll make an inch, let alone a touchdown, and then I want him to go back to the huddle shaking his head and thinking about Ray Nitschke. Ray played in the 230s, but he hit like he was 300 pounds. If you wanted a leader to emulate, you couldnt pick a better person.. Ray grew up in Chicago and had a. He was the MVP of the 1962 NFL Championship Game, accepting the prize of a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette. In the 2005 version of the movie, there is no Bogdanski- probably because they couldnt find as mean a person as Ray Nitschke to play the part. He said, 'No, we'll send you the paperwork and you can sign it.' Ray Nitschke spent two decades informing new Pro Football Hall of Famers none was bigger than the rest. Yary witnessed the fury before he entered the NFL in 1968 with the Minnesota Vikings as the first draft choice. Well guess what? My parents kept telling me to come back and go in the dairy business because they were ready to retire and all three of my brothers were in it. Grabo (Jim Grabowski) got $450,000. [18] Nitschke returned for a 16th training camp in 1973, then retired in late August.[19][20][21][14]. Said Remmel: I remember sitting in hotel lobbies when the team was on the road and watch Ray obligingly pose for photographs and sign hundreds of autographs. That was the first year I started making money. The University of Illinois converted him to fullback and linebacker. Ray Nitschke was born on the 29th of December, 1936. He loved it. He died in Venice, Fla., near his winter home in Naples. Bobby Bell, for instance, will make a comment to everyone in the room for them to look around closely and acknowledge the others they see, Lanier said, because next year a certain number will not be here. He hit you with every ounce of his body. He thought that was a privilege. Proceeds from the documentary will help fund the center and provide two free scholarships each month. (It was erroneously first reported as 5,000lb (2,270kg). ARLINGTON, TX - It was around ten oclock in the evening a week ago Sunday when Im positive that Mr. She's bossing me around.' His wife is Jackie Forchette (26 June1961 - 1996)( her death)( 3 children). "People talk about tough he was, how bad he was. Ray Nitschke. On March 8, Nitschke took a drive with his daughter, Amy Klaas, and her one-year-old daughter to a friends house. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981. Nitschke had an unusual pregame routine on Sundays. Coming up the middle or filling a hole on a running play, I thought Nitschke was better than Butkus. Then Chicago Bears middle linebacker Dick Butkus went to eight straight. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. Nitschke was 61 years old. In his sophomore year in 1955, due to a depletion of players in the offensive backfield, Illini head coach Ray Eliot moved Nitschke from quarterback to fullback,[9] shattering his childhood dream of quarterbacking a team to a victory in the Rose Bowl. His bad grades and temper couldnt derail such a phenomenal athlete. When you die, youre still in the Hall of Fame.. Nitschke ranked ahead of Chuck Bednarik, Mike Singletary, and Roger Staubach on the list. Ray Nitschke was born in IL. Ray Nitschke attended the University of Illinois. Heres a guy, after all these years, in an exhibition game. . In such a violent sport, thats a pretty elusive title to hold. "He was one of the most popular Packers ever," said Packers public relations director Lee Remmel. 66 was retired in 1983, the fourth of six numbers retired by the Packers. Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke comes in at number 47 on NFL Films' "The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players" list produced in 2010.Subscribe t. I would journey with him and longtime TV 7 & 4 news and weatherman Dave Fortin to the Elberta beach to watch the hang gliders fly off the bluffs. "I can remember Nitschke breaking his arm, busting his knee up and playing a whole half without even saying anything," Wood said. Guess what I got my second year? Raymond Ernest Nitschke (Wildman) Position: LB 6-3 , 235lb (190cm, 106kg) Born: December 29 in Elmwood Park, IL More bio, uniform, draft, salary info Hall of Fame 1x Pro Bowl 2x All-Pro 2x SB Champ 5x NFL Champ HOF All-1960s Team 33 66 SUMMARY Career G 190 AV 120 Int 25 Yds 385 TD 2 Ray Nitschke Overview Game Logs Career Postseason 1958 1959 1960 I was on one-year contracts and I was making like $25,500 and had started every game in Green Bay except my rookie year. As much as he insisted they all are equals, his passion set him apart. Besides Klaas, Nitschke is survived by two sons, John and Richard. Nitschke was taken to Venice Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:30 p.m. (EST). It was his passion for the game, and the way he could flip a switch once he walked over the painted sideline. The late Jackie Nitschke was married to Lombardi-era Packer Ray Nitschke. Lueck, who played at the University of Arizona, was chosen No. Someones got to be the leader and step forward, and that was a great quality he had. He laid down the law to all the new inductees of what was acceptable and unacceptable, and everybody followed what Ray said.. ", On playing against Dick Butkus vs. practicing against Nitschke: "Butkus was tough. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, High school basketball: Southern California and Northern California Regional results and updated pairings, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame overcomes deficit to win Mission League opener, Still in UCLAs corner, Ben Howland stressed importance of getting No. pic.twitter.com/vf59f532Sw. Nitschke accused Ditka of a cheap shot in a game, and the two nearly came to blows later that night in a restaurant. Nitschke also appeared in the 1974 football comedy The Longest Yard as Guard Bogdanski. But, let me tell you, off the field, Ray Nitschke, who was selected as a linebacker on both the 50th and 75th anniversary all-time National Football League teams was a pussycat. Not only is Ray Nitschke one of the best LBs in NFL history, he had an act at making something out of nothing. In this day and age of egotistical professional athletes, my friend Ray Nitschke would also have been a unanimous selection for the Nice Guy Hall of Fame. The Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge, a twin-leaf bascule bridge over the Fox River on Main Street (US 141) in Green Bay,[32] was named in honor of Nitschke. ", On Lombardi's role as general manager and his dealings with him:"He was in the locker room. Who Is Ray Nitschke's Wife? He was the one player who most represented legendary coach Vince Lombardis toughness. ", On Ray Wietecha, his first line coach: "I thought he was a very good coach. Cincinnati Bengals left tackle Anthony Munoz didnt get to hear Nitschke speak at the luncheon. When he got up to speak, you knew he was speaking from the heart. The Packers won 167 and finished the season with a 141 record. ", Comparing Bratkowski to Starr: "Zeke had the arm. Just a few of the recognitions Ray had, he was voted the . [17] In the divisional round of the playoffs on Christmas Eve, Green Bay lost 163 at Washington. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. He certainly didnt look like he was one of the meanest and best football players of all time. Ive been trying to get to the Emerald City, and the Emerald City was right in that room. Lombardi gave partial credit to Nitschke's success to Nitschke's wife, whose calming influence helped him focus on his career. He could throw the ball. ", On other members of a defensive unit coming off a third straight NFL championship: "I'll tell you the guy who did the most damage to the head was Ray Nitschke. Nitschkes legacy stretched far beyond the football field. 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