Duke Nelson

{{Short description|American sports coach and administrator (1907–1989)}}

{{Infobox college coach

| name = Duke Nelson

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1907|4|26}}

| birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1989|10|22|1907|4|26}}

| death_place = Middlebury, Vermont, U.S.

| alma_mater = Middlebury College

| coach_sport1 = Football

| coach_years2 = 1938

| coach_team2 = Union (NY) (line)

| coach_years3 = 1939–1941

| coach_team3 = RPI

| coach_years4 = 1946–1968

| coach_team4 = Middlebury

| coach_sport5 = Baseball

| coach_years6 = 1933–1936

| coach_team6 = Middlebury

| coach_years7 = 1937–1938

| coach_team7 = Union (NY)

| coach_sport8 = Ice hockey

| coach_years9 = 1932–1936

| coach_team9 = Middlebury

| coach_years10 = 1936–1939

| coach_team10 = Union (NY)

| coach_years11 = 1946–1964

| coach_team11 = Middlebury

| coach_years12 = 1981–1983

| coach_team12 = Middlebury (W)

| coach_sport13 = Lacrosse

| coach_years14 = 1954–1968

| coach_team14 = Middlebury

| admin_years1 = 1946–1956

| admin_team1 = Middlebury (assistant AD)

| admin_years2 = 1956–1969

| admin_team2 = Middlebury

| overall_record = 98–81–12 (football)
211–177–7 (men's ice hockey)
14–14–1 (women's ice hockey)
9–26–1 (lacrosse)

| bowl_record =

| tournament_record =

| championships = Football
2 Vermont State Conference (1948–1949)

| awards =

| coaching_records =

}}

Walter John "Duke" Nelson (April 26, 1907 – October 22, 1989) was an American college athletics coach and administrator. He was the head American football coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) from 1939 to 1941 and at Middlebury College from 1946 to 1968 compiling a career college football coaching record of 98–81–12. At Middlebury, he teams won back-to-back Vermont State Conference championships in 1948 and 1949. Nelson graduated from Middlebury in 1932.{{cite web |url=http://athletics.middlebury.edu/traditions/halloffame/2015/nelson |title=Walter "Duke" Nelson |publisher=Middlebury College Athletics |access-date=July 19, 2016 |archive-date=October 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017121738/http://athletics.middlebury.edu/traditions/halloffame/2015/nelson |url-status=dead }}

Head coaching record

=Football=

{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = RPI Engineers

| conf = Independent

| startyear = 1939

| endyear = 1941

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1939

| name = RPI

| overall = 4–2–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1940

| name = RPI

| overall = 7–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1941

| name = RPI

| overall = 4–3

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = RPI

| overall = 15–6–2

| confrecord =

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Middlebury Panthers

| conf = Independent

| startyear = 1946

| endyear = 1947

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1946

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 2–4–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1947

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 6–1–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Middlebury Panthers

| conf = Vermont State Conference

| startyear = 1948

| endyear = 1950

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference

| year = 1948

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 7–1

| conference =

| confstanding = T–1st

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference

| year = 1949

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 4–2–1

| conference =

| confstanding = 1st

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1950

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 3–4–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Middlebury Panthers

| conf = NCAA College Division independent

| startyear = 1951

| endyear = 1962

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1951

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 4–4

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1952

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 2–5

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1953

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 2–5

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1954

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 4–2–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1955

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 3–4

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1956

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 4–3

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1957

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 5–2

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1958

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 4–3

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1959

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 5–1–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1960

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 5–1–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1961

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 5–1–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1962

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 5–2

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Middlebury Panthers

| conf = Green Mountain Conference

| startyear = 1963

| endyear = single

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1963

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 2–5

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Middlebury Panthers

| conf = NCAA College Division independent

| startyear = 1964

| endyear = 1968

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1964

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 3–3–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1965

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 2–5

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1966

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 3–5

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1967

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 2–6

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1968

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 1–6–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Middlebury

| overall = 83–75–10

| confrecord =

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record End

| overall = 98–81–12

| bowls = no

| poll = no

| polltype =

}}

{{cite web |author= |title=NCAA Statistics |url=https://stats.ncaa.org/people/9674?sport_code=MFB |publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association |access-date=June 12, 2024 }}{{cite web |author= |title=Middlebury College Football Coaching History |url=https://athletics.middlebury.edu/documents/2024/1/19/fbch_2023.pdf |publisher=Middlebury College |access-date=June 12, 2024 }}