Spike Nelson
American football player and coach (1906–1998)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Emerson William "Spike" Nelson[1] (April 2, 1906 – October 20, 1998)[2][3] was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi State College, now Mississippi State University, in 1938 and at Yale University in 1941, compiling a career head coaching record of 5–13. He played college football as a tackle at the University of Iowa and was selected as a first-team tackle by the New York Sun on its 1926 College Football All-America Team.[4] He was also selected as a second-team All-American by the Associated Press and Central Press.[5][6][7]
Cherokee, Iowa, U.S.
Laguna Hills, California, U.S.
| |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 2, 1906 Cherokee, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | October 30, 1998 (aged 92) Laguna Hills, California, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1925–1927 | Iowa |
| Position | Tackle |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1931 | Iowa (line) |
| 1932–1937 | LSU (line) |
| 1938 | Mississippi State |
| 1939–1940 | Yale (line) |
| 1941 | Yale |
| 1942 | Saint Mary's Pre-Flight (assistant) |
| 1943 | Saint Mary's Pre-Flight |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 8–17–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| |
Nelson was also an All-American hammer thrower and discus thrower for the Iowa Hawkeyes track and field team, finishing third in the hammer throw at the 1926 NCAA Track and Field Championships.[8]
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State Maroons (Southeastern Conference) (1938) | |||||||||
| 1938 | Mississippi State | 4–6 | 1–4 | 11th | |||||
| Mississippi State: | 4–6 | 1–4 | |||||||
| Yale Bulldogs (Independent) (1941) | |||||||||
| 1941 | Yale | 1–7 | |||||||
| Yale: | 1–7 | ||||||||
| Saint Mary's Pre-Flight Air Devils (Independent) (1943) | |||||||||
| 1943 | Saint Mary's Pre-Flight | 3–4–1 | |||||||
| Saint Mary's Pre-Flight: | 3–4–1 | ||||||||
| Total: | 8–17–1 | ||||||||
