election of former teammate Henry Jordan to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the eve of Super Bowl XXIX in Miami Gardens, Florida, Nitschke flew down to Florida to participate in the game's coin-toss ceremonies, joining three other 75th Anniversary Team representatives--Otto Graham (1950s), Mean Joe Greene (1970s) and Gale Sayers (1960s), all three of whom had been announced as representatives of their respective decades in the ceremony months prior to the PFHOF election—as well as three of Jordan's fellow Class of 1995 newcomers, all of whom represented the 1980s: Kellen Winslow, Lee Roy Selmon, and then-U.S. Congressman Steve Largent, who ended the pregame ceremonies by flipping the coin. In 1999, he was ranked number 18 on The Sporting News''' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, making him the highest-ranked player coached by Vince Lombardi, second among Packers behind Don Hutson, and third among linebackers behind Lawrence Taylor and Dick Butkus. Legacy The Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge, a twin-leaf bascule bridge over the Fox River on Main Street (US 141) in Green Bay, was named in honor of Nitschke. The bridge was constructed in 1998 to replace the former Main Street Bridge built in 1923. References Gruver, Edward (2002), Nitschke. Lanham:Taylor Trade Publishing. Further reading Kaplan, Richard (1970), Great Linebackers of the NFL'', External links 1936 births 1998 deaths American people of German descent People from Elmwood Park, Illinois Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois American football middle linebackers Illinois Fighting Illini football players Green Bay Packers players Western Conference Pro Bowl players National Football League players with retired numbers Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees