An overworked national star in the late 1950s on NBC's college football, NBA basketball,
and ML baseball broadcasts, Nelson surprisingly accepted a job with the expansion
New York Mets in 1962 and became their top announcer for 19 seasons. He worked with
Ralph Kiner and Bob Murphy throughout his Mets career. Nelson's garish plaid sports
coats matched the colorfully inept early Mets beautifully, and in 1965 he broadcast
a Mets-Astros game from a gondola suspended from the Astrodome roof. Equally adept
at television and radio, Nelson also broadcast Notre Dame football games from 1967
to 1979, and after three seasons with the San Francisco Giants, taught broadcasting
seminars at his alma mater, the University of Tennessee. Twice named National Sportscaster
of the Year, Nelson also broadcast 26 Cotton Bowls. He was inducted into the Writers
Wing of the Hall of Fame in 1988.
(SL)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»January 31, 1962: Willie Mays signs the biggest contract in baseball, a reported $90,000 for 1962. They also sign another slugger -- Ralph Kiner joins Lindsey Nelson and Bob Murphy in the announcing booth.
»April 28, 1965: Mets announcer Lindsey Nelson broadcasts the Mets-Astros game at the Astrodome from a hanging gondola, 208 feet above 2B. He sees plenty of action as Houston wins, 12–9.