- Lindsey Nelson
Lindsey Nelson (
May 25 ,1919 -June 10 ,1995 ) was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts ofcollege football andNew York Mets baseball .Early life and career
Born on
May 25 ,1919 , inCampbellsville, Tennessee , Nelson broke into broadcasting in 1948 following a short career as areporter inColumbia, Tennessee for the "Columbia Daily Herald"newspaper . He was the firstplay-by-play announcer for the "Vol Network" which was set up to broadcast the games of theUniversity of Tennessee .Nelson subsequently did the play-by-play of the Cotton Bowl for 25 seasons on
CBS television, where he earned widespread recognition for his deep Southern drawl and signature opening greeting: "Happy New Year - This is Lindsey Nelson in the Cotton Bowl inDallas ." For 13 years he was the syndicated television voice ofNotre Dame Fighting Irish football, and he called theMutual Broadcasting System 's Monday nightradio broadcasts of NFL games from 1974 to 1977. Nelson also called NFL games for CBS television for many years.Nelson began his national baseball broadcast career as one of
Gordon McLendon 's radio announcers for the Liberty Broadcasting System, which primarily did re-creations of games. After a stretch as an administrator with theNBC television network, he began doing NBC baseball broadcasts in by|1957.New York Mets
In by|1962, Nelson was hired by the Mets, and for the next 17 seasons did both radio and
television withRalph Kiner and Bob Murphy. All three men were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. WhenChicago White Sox pitcher and former Mets aceTom Seaver went for his 300th victory in August 1985, against the hostNew York Yankees , Yankees TV flagshipWPIX had Nelson call the final half-inning of Seaver's history-making win.an Francisco Giants
In by|1979, Nelson moved on to the
San Francisco Giants , for whom he worked three seasons. He also worked with CBS Radio broadcasts of Major League Baseball in by|1985. Nelson is remembered for being the announcer during the first NFL game, on CBS, to feature the use of "instant replay ", which he had to explain repeatedly during the game, reminding viewers that "this is not live."Fashion sense and style
Television broadcasts featuring Nelson were notable for his "loud"
psychedelic -colored or multi-coloredplaid sports jacket s, 335 of which he was reputed to have owned at one time. They often clashed with the set and his other surroundings and causedscintillation to the picture when his image was being broadcast, the television technology of the time being inadequate to represent them accurately. Mutual Broadcasting System president C. Edward Little would complain that Nelson never sent any of his jackets to the cleaners and they often smelled quite awful.Honors
Nelson's honors include induction into the
National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame inSalisbury, North Carolina in 1979; induction into theNew York Mets Hall of Fame in by|1984; induction into theAmerican Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame in 1986; the Tuss McLaughry Service Award for sports broadcasting in 1988; theFord C. Frick Award from theBaseball Hall of Fame in 1988; thePete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1990; and anEmmy Award for Life Achievement in 1991.Retirement and death
After his
retirement from active broadcasting he moved toKnoxville, Tennessee to an apartment across theTennessee River from theUniversity of Tennessee campus from which he had a view ofNeyland Stadium , the Vols' home field, and wrote an autobiographical memoir.Nelson died at age 76 on
June 10 ,1995 , inAtlanta, Georgia .ee also
*
List of NFL on NBC commentator pairings
*List of NFL on CBS commentator pairings External links
* [http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/frick_bios/nelson_lindsey.htm Baseball Hall of Fame - Frick Award recipient]
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