Ray Nitschke---1971
Though not as sexy as his divisional
rival Dick Butkus of the Chicago
Bears, Ray Nitschke helped pave the
way for the middle linebackers in the
early 1960s.
While the Vince Lombardi-led
Packers were winning championships
behind Bart Starr's arm and pulling
guard Jerry Kramer blocks, Nitschke
was leading a stingy Green Bay
defense.
From the back of his card we find out
that the man in the middle of the
Packer defense was voted the MVP
of the 1962 NFL championship game
vs. the Giants, also voted most out-
standing linebacker for 1967 by the
NFL players and was credited with
nine tackles against Oakland in the
1968 Super Bowl. He was also
named to the NFL All-50 Year Team.
What we didn't know, was that
Nitschke was also a fullback in
college, carrying the ball 79 times for
the University of Illinios for a 6.5-yard
average. As inovative as Lombardi
was, we are surprised that the head
coach didn't hand the ball to Nitschke
every now-and-then just to inflict a
little punishment on the opposition's
defense.
Inducted into the Football Hall of
Fame in 1978, Nitschke is fondly
remembered on the silver screen by
many movie watchers as being the
tough linebacker for the prison
guards in the original "The Longest
Yard" in 1974.
This is one of Nitschke's last cards as
the linebacker looks a little
depressed in this picture. We aren't
sure why, though we can theorize
that he is noticeably down in the
dumps either because he realizes his
career is coming to a close within the
next year or he has come to
understand that he is no longer
"balding," but is now genuinely bald.
(Editor's note: Nitschke's page on
the Football Hall of Fame site notes
that the former All-State quarterback
in high school was once offered a
contract to pitch for the St. Louis
Browns. Now that would have been
one interesting baseball card.)
(10/12/08)
rival Dick Butkus of the Chicago
Bears, Ray Nitschke helped pave the
way for the middle linebackers in the
early 1960s.
While the Vince Lombardi-led
Packers were winning championships
behind Bart Starr's arm and pulling
guard Jerry Kramer blocks, Nitschke
was leading a stingy Green Bay
defense.
From the back of his card we find out
that the man in the middle of the
Packer defense was voted the MVP
of the 1962 NFL championship game
vs. the Giants, also voted most out-
standing linebacker for 1967 by the
NFL players and was credited with
nine tackles against Oakland in the
1968 Super Bowl. He was also
named to the NFL All-50 Year Team.
What we didn't know, was that
Nitschke was also a fullback in
college, carrying the ball 79 times for
the University of Illinios for a 6.5-yard
average. As inovative as Lombardi
was, we are surprised that the head
coach didn't hand the ball to Nitschke
every now-and-then just to inflict a
little punishment on the opposition's
defense.
Inducted into the Football Hall of
Fame in 1978, Nitschke is fondly
remembered on the silver screen by
many movie watchers as being the
tough linebacker for the prison
guards in the original "The Longest
Yard" in 1974.
This is one of Nitschke's last cards as
the linebacker looks a little
depressed in this picture. We aren't
sure why, though we can theorize
that he is noticeably down in the
dumps either because he realizes his
career is coming to a close within the
next year or he has come to
understand that he is no longer
"balding," but is now genuinely bald.
(Editor's note: Nitschke's page on
the Football Hall of Fame site notes
that the former All-State quarterback
in high school was once offered a
contract to pitch for the St. Louis
Browns. Now that would have been
one interesting baseball card.)
(10/12/08)
