It's RAY NITSCHKE days until we get married

As you know by now, Ray Nitschke is one of just five (soon to be six) players in Packers history to have his numbers retired by the team. Since he retired in 1972, no one who has contributed in any meaningful way to the Packers has worn the jersey (although it was twice issued to reserve players).

If you look at the raw numbers, it's easy to dismiss Nitschke's on-field career. He only made two All-Pro teams in his career, and while his 25 career interceptions are impressive for a linebacker of any era, it could be tempting to wipe those aside as merely an outlier, a statistical oddity in an era of ground-bound NFL offenses.

So what made Nitschke great? Well, if not the numbers specifically, it may have been that he was simply outstanding in just about every facet of the game that's not measured by numbers specifically. Consider the write-up in his hall of fame biography:

"In the mid-1960s, a national sports magazine asked a group of former NFL linebacking stars to rate the middle linebackers of the day. The panel first determined the skills it would seek in the ideal man -- strength, quickness, speed, toughness, and leadership. Ray Nitschke, the choice as the all-around top man, ranked very high or absolutely tops in every category. "The core of the Packers"..."an inspiration on the field"..."gives 100 percent all the time"..."lahs an overwhelming desire to make the play"..."without peer as a leader"...panel members remarked as they explained their consensus opinion."

Beyond that, Nitschke was an absolute terror on the field. There's a story (although it may be embellished) of one particular play in Nitschke's career. Fran Tarkenton played quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings during part of Nitschke's tenure with the Packers. As he is to this day, Tarkenton was a bit of a rabble-rouser. In one particular game, he'd said something that drew Nitschke's ire, but the Packers linebacker quickly had an opportunity to get revenge.

Later in the game, Nitschke intercepted one of Tarkenton's passes and had a clear path to the end zone. But instead of attempting to score, Nitschke went looking for Tarkenton, taking advantage of a rare chance to get a free shot at the quarterback. After all, nobody can fault a ball carrier for doing whatever he needs to when he's trying to get to the end zone, right?

I don't know if that's a completely true story, but it fits with the rest of Nitschke's persona perfectly. I guess if you're gonna be bald, you might as well be nasty.