Gruver, who wrote winningluy 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.

– Library Journal

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