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.[1]

Duke Nelson
Biographical details
Born(1907-04-26)April 26, 1907
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedOctober 22, 1989(1989-10-22) (aged 82)
Middlebury, Vermont, U.S.
Alma materMiddlebury College
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1938Union (NY) (line)
1939–1941RPI
1946–1968Middlebury
Baseball
1933–1936Middlebury
1937–1938Union (NY)
Ice hockey
1932–1936Middlebury
1936–1939Union (NY)
1946–1964Middlebury
1981–1983Middlebury (W)
Lacrosse
1954–1968Middlebury
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1946–1956Middlebury (assistant AD)
1956–1969Middlebury
Head coaching record
Overall98–81–12 (football)
211–177–7 (men's ice hockey)
14–14–1 (women's ice hockey)
9–26–1 (lacrosse)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football
2 Vermont State Conference (1948–1949)

Head coaching record

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Football

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
RPI Engineers (Independent) (1939–1941)
1939 RPI 4–2–1
1940 RPI 7–1
1941 RPI 4–3
RPI: 15–6–2
Middlebury Panthers (Independent) (1946–1947)
1946 Middlebury 2–4–1
1947 Middlebury 6–1–1
Middlebury Panthers (Vermont State Conference) (1948–1950)
1948 Middlebury 7–1 T–1st
1949 Middlebury 4–2–1 1st
1950 Middlebury 3–4–1
Middlebury Panthers (NCAA College Division independent) (1951–1962)
1951 Middlebury 4–4
1952 Middlebury 2–5
1953 Middlebury 2–5
1954 Middlebury 4–2–1
1955 Middlebury 3–4
1956 Middlebury 4–3
1957 Middlebury 5–2
1958 Middlebury 4–3
1959 Middlebury 5–1–1
1960 Middlebury 5–1–1
1961 Middlebury 5–1–1
1962 Middlebury 5–2
Middlebury Panthers (Green Mountain Conference) (1963)
1963 Middlebury 2–5
Middlebury Panthers (NCAA College Division independent) (1964–1968)
1964 Middlebury 3–3–1
1965 Middlebury 2–5
1966 Middlebury 3–5
1967 Middlebury 2–6
1968 Middlebury 1–6–1
Middlebury: 83–75–10
Total: 98–81–12
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

[2][3]

References

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  1. ^ "Walter "Duke" Nelson". Middlebury College Athletics. Archived from the original on October 17, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  2. ^ "NCAA Statistics". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  3. ^ "Middlebury College Football Coaching History" (PDF). Middlebury College. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
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