Legendary Green Bay Packer middle linebacker Ray Nitschke was born on this day in 1936. Nitschke went to the University of Illinois and was drafted in Round 3 of the NFL Draft in 1958. He played his entire 15 year career with the Green Bay Packers and was the key player in their defense at middle linebacker for 5 NFL Championships and 2 Super Bowl Championships.

Nitschke was 6’3″ 235 and known as one of the hardest hitting players in NFL history. In 1969 he was named the greatest linebacker in NFL history. In 1999 The Sporting News named Nitschke the 18th greatest player in NFL history. The Green Bay Packers retired his #66. The only other Lombardi-era player whose number was retired is Bart Starr. Ray Nitschke was named the MVP of the 1962 NFL Championship Game. He had 25 interceptions in his career. Ray Nitschke is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ray Nitschke died in 1998 at the age of 61 of a heart attack.