Monday, June 9, 2014

no. 298 - jim nelson


Who is the man: Jim Nelson was entering his second season in 1971 after completing a fairly memorable rookie year in 1970.

Can ya dig it: Maybe if I had put my name on my glove I wouldn't have had it stolen in fourth grade.

Right on: Rookie card! Only card!

You see that cat Nelson is a bad mother: Nelson won the first three starts of his career, a feat that wouldn't be duplicated by a Pirates pitcher until Gerrit Cole in 2013.

Shut your mouth: In a book about Forbes Field, Nelson is quoted as he recalls the mayhem at the end of the final game at the stadium in 1970. "After the game, the fans stormed the field and took everything, grass, bases, numbers off the scoreboard," said Nelson who was the winning pitcher that day. "I even saw some old ladies with parts of chairs. It was a real scene."

No one understands him but his woman: According to his obituary -- Nelson died in 2004 -- he enjoyed handing out $5 bills to the homeless every Christmas.


(A word about the back): If it wasn't for all that time in the minors (seven years), Nelson wouldn't have had much of a baseball career. He pitched just 2 years in the majors and according to this write-up, played for just one year in high school.

3 comments:

  1. Some bastard stole my glove in the seventh grade and I later found him with it with the name completely scribbled over in sharpie. There is no justice in the world.

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  2. What was the name of the book about Forbes Field?

    ReplyDelete