Lindsey Nelson, Sportscaster
Nationally known sportscaster Lindsey Nelson was born in Campbellsville, Tennessee, on May 25, 1919. He graduated from Central High School in Columbia, Tennessee, in 1938. He went on to attend the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. In 1941, after the outbreak of World War II, Nelson was inducted into the U.S. Army at Camp Forrest in Tullahoma, Tennessee, and from there reported to the 9th Infantry Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He served with this unit for nearly five years, stationed across three continents.
While at Fort Bragg, Nelson worked as a Public Relations officer and escorted several high-ranking civilian and political figures, including Generals George Marshall and George S. Patton, as well as Lord Louis Mountbatten of Britain. During his time in Sicily, Nelson became friends with war correspondents Ernie Pyle and Tom Henry, both of whom would later influence his career. After serving in locations ranging from Morocco and Sicily to Remagen Bridge and Berlin, Nelson returned to his hometown of Columbia at the end of the war.
In 1988, Nelson was inducted into the Writers’ Wing of the Hall of Fame. He had been an all-purpose broadcaster for NBC, covering college football, NBA basketball, and Major League Baseball. For 19 seasons, Nelson was the top announcer for the New York Mets, working alongside Ralph Kiner and Bob Murphy. He became known for his signature plaid sports coat, which matched his energetic personality and easy-going manner. In 1965, he broadcasted a Mets-Astros game from a gondola suspended from the roof of the Astrodome.
From 1967 to 1979, Nelson announced Notre Dame football games. Over his career with both CBS and NBC, he was named Sportscaster of the Year four times (1959-1962). For 26 seasons, he was the “Voice of the Cotton Bowl” and also announced for the San Francisco Giants from 1979 to 1981. Following his time with the Giants, he taught broadcasting seminars at the University of Tennessee. In 1991, Nelson was awarded a Life Achievement Emmy.
After a successful and star-studded career, Lindsey Nelson passed away on June 10, 1995, at the age of 76, in Atlanta, Georgia, due to complications from Parkinson’s disease and pneumonia. Here is a link to his Obituary.
The image is Red Grange (top) and Lindsey Nelson promoting their coverage of the NCAA Game of the Week program on NBC, circa 1955.
NOTE:
Although Lindsey Nelson is widely associated with Columbia, Tennessee, he was actually born in Campbellsville, Tennessee, and lived there until he was about four years old. His grandmother, Mrs. Florence Baker, lived in Campbellsville for many years in a home on High Street. His sister, Mrs. Mary Sue Nelson Pennington, lived in Columbia and shared with Campbellsville historian George Russell during a conversation in January 2001 that she was also born in Campbellsville and attended the old school near the site of the Presbyterian Church.
Sources:
- Maury County, Tennessee Genealogy
- Maury County Remembers World War II
- Reminisces of Mary Sue Nelson
- CBS SportsLine, Baseball Online Library
- National Baseball Hall of Fame
- UT Alumnus Obituary