Nitschke: The Ray Nitschke Story

by Edward Gruver

Overview

Based on dozens of interviews and covers such highlights of the legend's career as his 1978 induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his 1964 performance in the Pro Bowl, and the remaining of the Packer practice grounds at Nitschke Field in 1997.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780878332717
Publisher:	Taylor Trade Publishing
Publication date:	07/02/2002
Edition description:	1ST TAYLOR
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.28(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.80(d)

Table of Contents

	Introduction	ix
	One	1
	Two	15
	Three	32
	Four	46
	Five	61
	Six	83
	Seven	97
	Eight	119
	Nine	136
	Ten	155
	Eleven	179
	Twelve	202
	Epilogue	218
	Index	225
	Acknowledgments	236

Editorial Reviews

It didn't take much convincing to get a Green Bay Packers fan to write a book about one of the team's all time greats. It (Nitschke) tells the story of gravel-voiced Ray Nitschke, who died in 1998 at the age of 61. The linebacker has been called the greatest hitter in NFL history by many football historians and players. No.66 instilled fear in opponents with his crushing blows, taunting and trademark, toothless sneer.

Green Bay Press Gazette - Jean Peerenboom

It didn't take much convincing to get a Green Bay Packers fan to write a book about one of the team's all time greats. It (Nitschke) tells the story of gravel-voiced Ray Nitschke, who died in 1998 at the age of 61. The linebacker has been called the greatest hitter in NFL history by many football historians and players. No.66 instilled fear in opponents with his crushing blows, taunting and trademark, toothless sneer.
— Jean Peerenboom

Green Bay Press Gazette

Bart Starr described his former Packers teammate and fellow Football Hall of Famer Ray Nitschke as a Jekyll-and-Hyde character. Off the field, he was a thoughtful, goodhearted person. But once he put on the cleats, Nitschke was ferocious and mean, a tight-lipped All-Pro linebacker who loved to pulverize ball carriers. In his 15-year career, he played hurt and he played bloody, while his teams won five NFL titles and the first two Super Bowls. Nitschke died in 1998 at the age of 61. This is his story. To find it gripping, you don't have to be a Cheese Head.

bn.com

Ray Nitschke was a rough and tough middle linebacker for the best team of the 1960s, the Green Bay Packers. Gruver, who wrote winningly on the Packers' glory years in The Ice Bowl, has done a nice job of blending familiar material about Nitschke with new interviews with Ray's teammates and contemporaries to create a compelling, coherent, and detailed portrait of a complex individual. Readers meet not only a Hall of Fame football player but also someone who underwent one of the most amazing life transformations imaginable, from an alcoholic, belligerent wild man to a sober, steady husband and father. Nitschke was a favorite for the way he played and for his habit of consistently making himself cheerfully available to fans. His entertaining autobiography, Mean on Sunday, was originally published in 1973, but this is the first biography of this legendary player. Recommended for all football collections. John Maxymuk, Rutgers Univ. Lib., Camden, NJ Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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