Sept. 14, Cranford, NJ—Former Green Bay Packer great Ray Nitschke was mistakenly elected to the "philosophy hall of fame" in his "first year of eligibility," after the election committee called him a "giant in the field of philology."

Nitschke was elected unanimously and posthumously, earning 615 of 620 votes. The philosophy hall of fame, in Cranford, NJ, opened its doors in 2002, making Nitschke its third member, after Shopenauer and Kant. The committee drew the line, considering only philosophers born after 1650 A.D.

Alan Frange, Ph.D., the Philosophy Hall's executive director, said of Nitschke, "His contributions to our field are huge. Besides Thus Spake Zarathustra, his Ecce Homo was a classic, full of penetrating observations about life that, still, today, are barely comprehensible."

Frange noted that "although the Nazis used his [Nitschke's] work to justify the extermination of millions, Ray can't be held accountable for that."

Nitschke, a middle linebacker in the 1960's, was a fearsome, dominant, all-pro defensive force, but no one, absolutely no one who knew him, mistook him for a philosopher.

"The committee made a mistake," said teammate Floyd Walthers, a former tackle. "Ray hit hard, he were a mean mothafuckah, but he cudn't 'a thunk his way out of a Wendy's."

Bart Starr, the Packer's Hall of Fame quarterback, said, "They got it wrong. Ray wasn't a philosopher. He was home-schooled in a mine through third grade. This doesn't add up."

Frange said, "We'll look into this. But everyone knows Ray Nitschke was a philosophy legend. Even Wagner [the German composer] recognized his genius."