Show August 17 1970 as I remember 'Doc (EDITOR’S NOTE: The following reflections of "Doc” Nelson are from Clarence Reading USU postmaster who was one of his many friends We regret that space does not allow us to print other interviews with "Doc’s” aquaintances) "I became acquainted with 'Doc’ Nelson in about the 1918 when he first came into Utah State I met him douii at the old Adams football field I used to be the ballboy for "Dick” Romney I knew him better by George than by " Doc ” or anything else "1 was a lover of giving all the football players "Dick” Romney and all the coaches apples because we had an apple orchard right a half a block from the old Adams football field You might not know where this football field was It was where the Adams school is right now We had the LDS Fifth Ward meetinghouse right on the East corner and the school on the West corner "The friendship I really had with "Doc” was the nice spirit that he had He was a friend to everybody It seemed like that if you ever ran into any trouble George was always there to help you out "For friendship too it would be the way he treated his wrestlers They were all friends of George There was none of this " bitchin around” as we called it He was really a friend to everybody "In George Nelson’s training room he used to have it that no outside people were allowed inside there I was one of George’s best little kids at that time (I was only about eight years old) George would let me be in the training room and around the football players and basketball players He’d always let me be with him when they had secret practices I could always stay around there when everybody else would have to go I could sit by him all the time He was my "second father” up here because I only lived three blocks from the college when I’d come up for basketball "I’d be around ivhen he was coaching his wrestling team and I enjoyed the way he explained things to them and the way he coached his "boys” "In wrestling it always seemed like George would always come through with the strength that he had and the real nice living that George had "In his spare time George was a man who liked to be up in the mountains to walk through the snow He was always in good health And he’d do it by just being up in the hills GEORGE “DOC” NELSON Aggie Coach Trainer Yest in my book he was Page (EDITOR’S NOTE: The following glimpse of “Doc” Nelson was taken from “The “Dick” Romney Story” by E L “Dick” Romney) ‘l finished three school years at Utah State when as of Sept 1921 I was permitted to hire my first fulltime assistant At that the position was more fulltime in respect to the amount of work than it was in respect to fulltime pay “Our freshman football teams were being coached by army officers stationed at the school assisted by former players doing advanced study on the campus “It was a simple matter George Nelson needed work And I needed a trainer So we teamed up as coach and trainer for a period of 28 very enjoyable years “At Utah State he served with great success as a wrestling coach winning 13 Utah State championships 10 Western Division Rocky Mountain Conference Championships and one Intermountain AAU Championship “Frank Gotch a former world’s told heavyweight champion wrestler me that in his opinion George Nelson was one of the best light heavyweight wrestlers of all time Gotch then told me about his experience wrestling with George in an official match They had each gained a fall and it was only after some extremely hard work that he won the second fall and the match “George was a highly respected citizen He and his wife Ann raised a fine family As a result of the love the players and the fans had for him the athletic fieldhouse at Utah State campus was named the George Nelson Field house “George really easily adjusted his speech from Swedish to English However during this process he did come forth with many statements that made I history at Utah State And must add that they were statements that increased our already great love for him “The radio station in Logan had a program that was called “The Man on the Street” A representative of the station with a microphone in his hand would stop someone on the street and ask questions He stopped George on the day that the conference wrestling meet was first quesbeing held at Utah State His tion was ‘George I understand that the conference wrestling meet is scheduled for today Tell the people about it’ George made a good report on the meet ‘I under“The second question stand Coach Nelson that you have a men in the strong team How about the smaller classes?’ George explained that we had some real strength in these smaller weights The next question What about the big boys?’ George’s answer ‘Oh dose big fellows dere are plenty of dem in school Buy dey don’t want to Not a bad get on a mat and dissipate’ statement at that and fellov-- still E is a great L Dick Romney 44440444 444441 “it was a splended and enjoyable friendship that I had with “Doc” George Nelson those 28 years If anyone doubts that he was a great fellow they had better check with the former Utah State athletes “It would take many chapters to relate the hundreds of laughs that “Doc” furnished the team Yes in my book he was and still is a great |