Hughie Nelson
Ballplayers Wounded in Combat
| Date and Place of Birth: | January 15, 1918 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Date and Place of Death: | January 17, 2012 Topsfield, MA |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Rank: | Staff Sergeant |
| Military Unit: | US Army |
| Area Served: | Pacific Theater of Operations |
Hugh "Hughie" Nelson, son of William and Jessie Nelson, was born on
January 15, 1918, in Glasgow, Scotland, and grew up in Beverly,
Massachusetts. A quarterback and pitcher at Beverly High School, he
captained both the football and baseball teams in his senior year, and
is best remembered for ending the school's long scoreless streak against
arch-rival Salem, on Thanksgiving morning in 1935, when he caught a
touchdown pass.
Nelson played for the Pocomoke City Red Sox of the Class D Eastern Shore
League in 1938, appearing in nine games for a 3-4 record and 8.60 ERA.
He was back with Pocomoke City in 1939, but an arm injury ended his
minor league career.
Nelson worked as a molder at the United Shoe Machinery Corporation in
Beverly, before entering military service in October 1942. He served as
a staff sergeant in the Pacific and saw action in the Philippines, where
he was wounded and received the Purple Heart.
Nelson returned to Beverly after the war and continued working at the
United Shoe Machinery Corporation for 40 years, also playing football
with town teams in Danvers, Ipswich and Peabody, and with the
semi-professional Haverhill Steamrollers.
"He was a great citizen in Beverly and a very positive person," said
former Beverly High football coach Bill Hamor. "I coached his son in
hockey and we were friends for a lot of years. Hughie was just a great
guy, who never forgot where he came from. Beverly was very important to
him, and he followed sports in the community closely. He knew all the
kids and their successes."
Hughie Nelson, an inaugural inductee into the Beverly High Sports Hall
of Fame in 2003, passed away at Masconomet Healthcare in Topsfield,
Massachusetts, on January 17, 2012. He was 94 years old and is buried at
North Beverly Cemetery.
Date Added February 2, 2018
Can you add more information to this biography and help make it the best online resource for this player? Contact us by email
Read Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice Through The Years - an online year-by-year account of military related deaths of ballplayers
Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice is associated with Baseball Almanac
Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice is proud to be sponsored by
