David M. Nelson
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | April 19, 1920
Died | November 30, 1991 Newark, Delaware, U.S. | (aged 71)
Playing career | |
1939–1941 | Michigan |
Position(s) | Hillsdale |
1948 | Harvard (backfield) |
1949–1950 | Maine |
1951–1965 | Delaware |
Administrative career ( Delaware | |
1989–1991 | Yankee Conf. (commissioner) |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 105–48–6 |
Bowls | 1–0 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
1 NCAA College Division National (1963) 2 MIAA (1946–1947) 1 Yankee (1949) 3 Middle Atlantic (1959, 1962–1963) | |
Awards | |
NFF Distinguished American Award (1984) Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1989) | |
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1987 (profile) |
David Moir Nelson (April 29, 1920 – November 30, 1991) was an
Early years and college
Nelson was born and raised in
Nelson earned a
Coaching career
Nelson was head football coach at Hillsdale College in Michigan from 1946 to 1947, assistant football coach at Harvard University in 1948, and head football coach at the University of Maine from 1949 to 1950. While at Maine, Nelson began to develop the Wing-T formation.[3]
When he took over at Delaware in 1951, Nelson continued to develop the Wing-T along with his assistant coach,
Nelson's Wing-T formation was adopted by a number of other teams, including Evashevski's Iowa Hawkeyes, who won the Rose Bowl in 1957 and 1959 using the formation. Others who used the Wing-T with success included Paul Dietzel with LSU, Frank Broyles with Arkansas, Ara Parseghian with Notre Dame, Jim Owens with Washington, and Eddie Robinson of Grambling State.
Nelson also brought a unique football helmet design to Delaware. In the 1930s, Nelson's future college coach, Crisler, was the coach at Princeton University and was looking for a way to allow his quarterback to easily locate pass receivers running downfield. At the time, there were no rules requiring schools to wear jerseys of contrasting colors, and helmets were dark leather, so distinguishing teammates from opponents at a glance was difficult. Crisler hit upon the idea of a helmet with a winged pattern on it and had the leather dyed in Princeton's black and orange colors. When Crisler moved to Michigan in 1938—the same year Nelson arrived—he used the same design with Michigan's school colors. Nelson brought the same design, in the appropriate school colors, to Hillsdale, Maine, and Delaware. Delaware continues to use the "Michigan" helmet design to this day.[4][5]
While at the University of Delaware, Nelson held numerous academic and administrative roles in addition to coaching. These positions include Associate Professor and Professor of Physical Education (1951-1990), Professor Emeritus (1990-1991), Director (1951-1984) and Dean (1981-1990) of Physical Education and Athletics and Recreation, as well as Special Assistant to the President (1989-1990).[2]
Books and awards
Nelson authored a number of books on football, including Scoring Power with the Winged-T Offense (co-authored with Evashevski, 1957), The Modern Winged-T Playbook (with Evashevski, 1961), Football: Principles and Plays (1962), Championship Football by 12 Great Coaches (1962), Dave Nelson Selects 99 Best Plays for High School Football (1966), Dave Nelson Selects the Best of Defensive Football for High Schools (1967), and Illustrated Football Rules (1976). Nelson's final book, The Anatomy of a Game: Football, the Rules, and the Men Who Made the Game, was a year-by-year chronicle of how the collegiate football playing rules evolved from 1876 to 1991. It was published posthumously in 1994.[2]
Nelson's awards include the National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award (1984) and the American Football Coaches Association's Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1989). He was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame in 1978,[6] the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1986, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987 for his coaching achievements.[3]
Nelson's papers are held in Special Collections at the University of Delaware.
Head coaching record
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hillsdale Dales (Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association ) (1946–1947)
| |||||||||
1946 | Hillsdale
|
7–1 | 4–1 | T–1st | |||||
1947 | Hillsdale | 7–0–2 | 3–0–2 | T–1st | |||||
Hillsdale: | 14–1–2 | 7–1–2 | |||||||
Maine Black Bears (Yankee Conference) (1949–1950) | |||||||||
1949 | Maine | 2–4–1 | 2–0–1 | T–1st | |||||
1950 | Maine | 5–1–1 | 3–1 | 2nd | |||||
Maine: | 7–5–2 | 5–1–2 | |||||||
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (NCAA College Division independent) (1951–1957) | |||||||||
1951 | Delaware | 5–3 | |||||||
1952 | Delaware | 4–4 | |||||||
1953 | Delaware | 7–1 | |||||||
1954 | Delaware | 8–2 | W Refrigerator | ||||||
1955 | Delaware | 8–1 | |||||||
1956 | Delaware | 5–3–1 | |||||||
1957 | Delaware | 4–3 | |||||||
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (Middle Atlantic Conference) (1958–1965) | |||||||||
1958 | Delaware | 5–3 | 2–3 | 5th (University) | |||||
1959 | Delaware | 8–1 | 5–0 | 1st (University) | |||||
1960 | Delaware | 2–6–1 | 1–4 | 6th (University) | |||||
1961 | Delaware | 4–4 | 3–2 | T–3rd (University) | |||||
1962 | Delaware | 7–2 | 5–0 | 1st (University) | |||||
1963 | Delaware | 8–0 | 4–0 | 1st (University) | |||||
1964 | Delaware | 4–5 | 3–3 | 4th (University) | |||||
1965 | Delaware | 5–4 | 3–3 | 4th (University) | |||||
Delaware: | 84–42–2 | 26–15 | |||||||
Total: | 105–48–6 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth |
References
- ^ a b "1997 Hall of Fame Inductees: DAVID M. NELSON". Athletics Hall of Fame. University of Delaware. Athletics Media Relations. Archived from the original on September 1, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Guide to the David M. Nelson papers, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ a b "David "The Admiral" Nelson". College Football Hall of Fame. Football Foundation. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
- The Regents of the University of Michigan. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
- ^ Woulfe, Tyler (September 22, 2004). "Using their heads: Story of the Tiger helmet; Current look a throwback to an original '30s design". The Daily Princetonian. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012.
- ^ "Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in Wilmington, Delaware - 1978". www.desports.org.
External links
- David M. Nelson papers, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.
- David M. Nelson at the College Football Hall of Fame