Lindsey Nelson (May 25, 1919 – June 10, 1995) was an American sportscaster best known for his long career calling
play-by-play
In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...
of
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
and
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
.
Nelson spent 17 years with the Mets and three years with the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
. For 33 years Nelson covered college football, including 26
Cotton Bowls, five
Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...
s, four
Rose Bowls, and 14 years announcing syndicated
Notre Dame games. He is in or honored by 13 separate Halls of Fame. Fans remember a talented broadcaster, an expert storyteller, and a true sports enthusiast. From his colorful jackets to his equally colorful broadcasts and enthusiastic manner of speaking, Nelson established himself as one of the industry's leading sportscasters.
Early life
Nelson was born on May 25, 1919, in
Pulaski, Tennessee
Pulaski is a city in and the county seat of Giles County, which is located on the central-southern border of Tennessee, United States. The population was 8,397 at the 2020 census. It was named after Casimir Pulaski, a noted Polish-born soldier o ...
,
[ the third child of Jon and Asie Nelson. He graduated from Columbia Central High School in Columbia. He graduated from the ]University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...
in 1941, taught English, and then served in the U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
,[ where he was a captain in North Africa and Europe during ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He also served as a war correspondent and public relations specialist, and played on an Army baseball team managed by Harry "The Hat" Walker.[
]
Career
Nelson broke into broadcasting in 1948 following a short career as a reporter
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
in Columbia, Tennessee
Columbia is a city in and the county seat of Maury County, Tennessee. The population was 41,690 as of the 2020 United States census. Columbia is included in the Nashville metropolitan area.
The self-proclaimed "mule capital of the world," Colum ...
, for the '' Columbia Daily Herald'' newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
. Nelson then returned to his alma mater in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
to create and become the first play-by-play
In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...
announcer for the Vol Network
Vol or Vols may refer to:
* Vol (command), a computer operating system command
* Vol (heraldry), a heraldic charge
* Volatility (finance)
* Volume (disambiguation)
* Volunteer (Irish republican)
* Nashville Vols, an American minor league baseball ...
, broadcasting the college football games of the Tennessee Volunteers
The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...
.
Affectionately known as "Mr. New Year's Day," Nelson subsequently did the play-by-play of the Cotton Bowl Classic
The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...
for 26 seasons on CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
television, where he earned widespread recognition for his Tennessee drawl and signature opening greeting: ''"Happy New Year; this is Lindsey Nelson in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
."'' He also called many Army–Navy Game
The Army–Navy Game is an American college football rivalry game between the Army Black Knights of the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, and the Navy Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy (USNA) at Annapo ...
s for CBS, including the 1963 contest in which instant replay
Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred which was both shot and broadcast live.
The video, having already been shown live, is replayed in order for viewers to see again and analyze what had j ...
was first introduced. (After the initial replay, it fell to Nelson to reassure viewers that Army had not scored again.) For 14 years Nelson was the syndicated television voice of Notre Dame football
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team plays its home games at the campus' Notre Dame ...
, and he also called the Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...
's Monday night radio broadcasts of NFL games from 1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
to 1977, in addition to NFL games for CBS television for many years.
Nelson began his national baseball broadcast career as one of Gordon McLendon
Gordon Barton McLendon (June 8, 1921 – September 14, 1986Texas State Historical AssociationMcClendon, Gordon Barton/ref>) was a radio broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Maverick of Radio", McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, during the 1950s ...
's radio announcers for the Liberty Broadcasting System
The Liberty Broadcasting System was a U.S. radio network of the late 1940s and early 1950s founded by Gordon McLendon, which mainly broadcast live recreations of Major League Baseball games, by following the action via Western Union ticker reports. ...
, which primarily did recreations of games. After a stretch as an administrator with NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...
, he began doing the network's baseball broadcasts in . He also broadcast college football, NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
and college basketball, and professional golf and tennis during his NBC tenure.
New York Mets
In , he was hired as the lead broadcaster by the expansion New York Mets, and for the next 17 seasons did both radio and television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
with Ralph Kiner
Ralph McPherran Kiner (October 27, 1922 – February 6, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball player and broadcaster. An outfielder, Kiner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians from 1946 through 1955. Follow ...
and Bob Murphy Robert, Rob, Bob or Bobby Murphy may refer to:
Sports Ice hockey
*Robert Ronald Murphy or Ron Murphy (1933–2014), Canadian ice hockey player
* Bob Murphy (ice hockey) (born 1951), Canadian retired professional ice hockey player
* Rob Murphy (ice ...
. Nelson and Murphy were eventually honored with the Ford C. Frick Award
The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the United States to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball". It is named for Ford C. Frick, former Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Before h ...
, presented annually to an announcer for "major contributions to baseball" during a ceremony at the Baseball Hall of Fame. While with the Mets, Nelson made the first (and only) radio broadcast of a baseball game from directly above the field. On April 28, 1965, Nelson accompanied the team to the Houston Astrodome
The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...
for their game against the Astros, and his producer noticed that there was a gondola suspended from the ceiling; Nelson and a broadcast executive agreed to be hoisted in the gondola to a point 208 feet above second base, and called the play-by-play, though as Nelson described it, "At first, I couldn't see anything except a lot of tiny figures. Everybody looked the same height... You couldn't tell a line drive from a pop fly." The Mets lost, 12-9, and Nelson declined to repeat the stunt.
When Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
pitcher and former Mets ace Tom Seaver
George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...
went for his 300th victory in August 1985 against the host New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
, the Yankees TV flagship station WPIX
WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Nexstar Media Group, making it a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station and flagship (broadcas ...
had Nelson call the final half-inning of Seaver's history-making win.
San Francisco Giants
In Nelson moved on to the San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
, for whom he worked three seasons. He also worked with CBS Radio broadcasts of Major League Baseball in . He is remembered for being the announcer during the first NFL game on CBS to use "instant replay
Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred which was both shot and broadcast live.
The video, having already been shown live, is replayed in order for viewers to see again and analyze what had j ...
", which he had to explain repeatedly during the game, reminding viewers that "this is not live."
Honors
Nelson's honors and awards include induction into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association
The National Sports Media Association (NSMA), formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, is an organization of sports media members in the United States, and constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports Pr ...
Hall of Fame in Salisbury, North Carolina
Salisbury is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. Located northeast of Charlotte and within its metropolita ...
in 1979; the New York Mets Hall of Fame
The New York Mets Hall of Fame was created in order to recognize the careers of former New York Mets players, managers, broadcasters and executives. There are presently 30 members. Originally located in the Diamond Club at Shea Stadium, the induc ...
in ; the American Sportscasters Association
The American Sportscasters Association (ASA) was founded in 1979 by broadcaster Dick London (Hanna) and associate attorney Harold Foner as a non-profit association to represent sportscasters by promoting and supporting the needs and interests of ...
Hall of Fame in 1986; the Tuss McLaughry Service Award for sports broadcasting in 1988; the Ford C. Frick Award
The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the United States to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball". It is named for Ford C. Frick, former Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Before h ...
from the Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
in 1988; the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
The Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, created in 1989 and named for the late longtime NFL commissioner, Pete Rozelle, is bestowed annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame "for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in profes ...
from the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
in 1990; and many more. He was awarded an Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1991. Nelson was inducted into th
University of Tennessee, Knoxville Army ROTC Hall of Fame
in 2021. He is a member of the 2020 Class.
The Tennessee Volunteers baseball
The Tennessee Volunteers baseball team represents the University of Tennessee in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Tennessee athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Eastern division of the Southeastern Conferen ...
team's home field was named Lindsey Nelson Stadium
Lindsey Nelson Stadium is a baseball stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is the home field of the University of Tennessee Volunteers college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions ...
after him.
Personal life and retirement
Television broadcasts featuring Nelson were notable for his multi-colored plaid sports jacket
A sport coat, also called a sport jacket (or sports coat or sports jacket in American English), is a men's smart casual lounge jacket designed to be worn on its own without matching trousers, traditionally for sporting purposes. Styles, fabrics, ...
s. He reportedly owned 335 of them at one time. During a broadcast, his jackets often clashed with the set and produced a scintillation effect in the broadcast image. But he figured that if fans could see rather than just hear broadcasts, he might as well give them something interesting to talk about. Nelson's television fashion sense was an inspiration for Jim Brockmire, the title character
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...
played by Hank Azaria
Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Sna ...
in the IFC series.Starr, Michael. "Meet TV’s most cringe-worthy – and shocking – broadcaster," ''New York Post'', Monday, March 27, 2017.
Retrieved February 11, 2022.
After his retirement
Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload.
Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
from active broadcasting, he moved to Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
, to an apartment across the Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...
from the University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...
campus from which he had a view of Neyland Stadium
Neyland Stadium ( ), is a sports stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. It serves primarily as the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, but is also used to host large conventions and has been a site for several National Footb ...
, the Vols' home field. He wrote an autobiographical
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
memoir entitled ''Hello Everybody, I'm Lindsey Nelson'', his landmark opening phrase.
Nelson died of Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
at age 76 on June 10, 1995, in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
. He is buried in Polk Memorial Gardens in Columbia. His wife, Mickie, died in 1973. They had two daughters, Nancy and Sharon.[
]
References
Further reading
*
External links
Lindsey Nelson
Ford C. Frick Award biography at the National Baseball Hall of Fame
Lindsey Nelson 1986 Interview
via YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Lindsey
1919 births
1995 deaths
American radio sports announcers
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College basketball announcers in the United States
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Dallas Cowboys announcers
Deaths from Parkinson's disease
Ford C. Frick Award recipients
Golf writers and broadcasters
Major League Baseball broadcasters
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National Basketball Association broadcasters
National Football League announcers
Neurological disease deaths in Georgia (U.S. state)
New York Mets announcers
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football announcers
People from Pulaski, Tennessee
Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award recipients
San Francisco Giants announcers
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