Green Bay Packers: Ranking the top five draft picks of all-time
Ray Nitschke: Fifth best all-time draft pick all-time by the Green Bay Packers
The name Ray Nitschke is an iconic one for the fans of the Green Bay Packers.
When Vince Lombardi molded championship teams, he did it on the backs of guys like Nitschke.
The middle linebacker was the nicest guy off the field and the meanest on it.
He played injured and his toughness was never questioned.
Nitschke was drafted in the third round (36th overall) of that famous 1958 NFL Draft that brought many of the best Packers players of the 1960s to Packers News.
Nitschke was one of the best.
He played a total of 15 years in the National Football League – playing at what would be considered one of the most difficult and violent of positions.
Nitschke’s presence on the field was legendary, but his impact off it was even more compelling.
Consider what his contemporaries had to say about him:
"George Allen: ‘Nitschke was one of those special players who did things others didn’t do. When I was with the Bears we named one of our defenses ’47 Nitschke’ because it was copied from the way Ray played a certain situation. Naming a defense after a player is a pretty high compliment in my book.’ Bears center Mike Pyle: ‘I can say playing against Ray Nitschke shortened my career dramatically. I had great respect for Nitschke. I thought he was one of the greatest linebackers to play the game. Raymond hit awfully hard, but he wasn’t a dirty player.’ Mike Ditka: ‘The toughest guy I ever played against was Ray Nitschke … he was a physical, tough guy and he was a great football player.’ Dave Robinson: ‘Pound for pound, there’s never been a linebacker that’s come close to Ray Nitschke.’"
Ray was a vicious hitter and sure tackler, as noted in the above testimonials, and was a solid run-stopper, but he also could cover backs in pass coverage as Bengston’s defense required. He intercepted 25 passes and recovered 20 fumbles in his years in Green Bay, and was known for making big plays at critical times.
Only Bart Starr played longer in a Packers uniform than Ray Nitschke. In his 15 years in Green Bay, Nitschke made All Pro three times and played in only one Pro Bowl, but was named the NFL’s all-time top linebacker in 1969 and was named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary team in 1993.
In his retirement, Ray became an unpaid ambassador for the Packers, for football and for the Hall of Fame, always happy to meet new fans and treat them with great friendliness.
When he died of a heart attack in 1998, Green Bay lost its number one citizen and football its number one gentleman – as well as one of the team’s all-time best draft picks.
Ray Nitschke’s career statistics, courtesy of profootballreference: