David Nelson (footballer) explained

David Nelson
Fullname:David Nelson
Birth Date:3 February 1918
Birth Place:Douglas Water, Scotland
Death Place:West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Position:Wing half
Years1:–1936
Clubs1:Douglas Water Thistle
Years2:1936
Clubs2:St Bernard's
Caps2:10
Goals2:7
Years3:1936–1946
Clubs3:Arsenal
Caps3:27
Goals3:4
Years4:1940
Clubs4:Motherwell (guest)
Years5:1942
Clubs5:Celtic (guest)
Clubs6:Tottenham Hotspur (guest)
Years7:1945–1946
Clubs7:Colchester United (guest)
Years8:1946–1947
Clubs8:Fulham
Caps8:23
Goals8:3
Years9:1947–1950
Clubs9:Brentford
Caps9:106
Goals9:5
Years10:1950–1952
Clubs10:Queens Park Rangers
Caps10:31
Goals10:0
Years11:1952–1953
Clubs11:Crystal Palace
Caps11:12
Goals11:0
Years12:1953–1955
Clubs12:Ashford Town
Caps12:44
Goals12:2
Totalcaps:253
Totalgoals:21
Manageryears1:1953–1955
Managerclubs1:Ashford Town (player-manager)

David Nelson (3 February 1918 – 27 September 1988) was a Scottish professional football player and manager, who played in the Football League for Brentford, Queens Park Rangers, Arsenal, Fulham and Crystal Palace as a wing half.

Career

A wing half, Nelson began his career with hometown junior club Douglas Water Thistle, before moving to Scottish League Second Division club St Bernard's in January 1936.[1] He scored seven goals in 12 appearances during the second half of the 1935–36 season and moved to England to sign for First Division club Arsenal for a £200 fee in May 1936.[2] Nelson made just 9 appearances before the Second World War broke out in September 1939,[3] but he had experienced some joy in the reserve team, winning the London Combination in 1936–37, 1937–38 and 1938–39. Nelson made 164 appearances for the Gunners during the war and also played as a guest for Motherwell, Celtic, Clapton Orient, Tottenham Hotspur, Brentford and Chesterfield during the Second World War.[4] He made further competitive Arsenal appearances during the 1945–46 and 1946–47 seasons, before leaving Highbury in December 1946. Nelson made 29 competitive appearances and scored four goals in over a decade with Arsenal.

Nelson joined Second Division club Fulham in December 1946, as a makeweight in the deal that took Ronnie Rooke to Arsenal.[5] He made 24 appearances and scored four goals before he and teammate Peter Buchanan transferred to newly relegated Second Division club Brentford for a £6,000 deal in August 1947.[6] Nelson was a regular at wing half and made 113 appearances, scoring five goals, before transferring to Second Division club Queens Park Rangers in February 1950, in exchange for Bill Pointon. He remained at Loftus Road for just over two years and departed having made 31 appearances.

Nelson dropped down to the Third Division South to join Crystal Palace in March 1952, but he made just 12 appearances before his departure the following year.[7] Nelson ended his career as player-manager at Kent League club Ashford Town between March 1953 and May 1955.[8] [9]

Personal life

Nelson served as a sergeant in the British Army during the Second World War. He emigrated to the United States in the late 1950s and worked at a car plant in St. Louis. At the time of his death, he was living in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Career statistics

Player

Club! rowspan="2"
SeasonLeagueNational cupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
St Bernard's1935–36Scottish Second Division10720127
Arsenal1936–37First Division830083
1938–39910091
1945–462020
1946–47First Division100100
Total27420294
Colchester United (loan)1945–46[10] Southern League3030
Fulham1946–47Second Division23310243
Brentford1947–48[11] Second Division40320423
1948–4940240442
1949–5026010270
Total1065701135
Queens Park Rangers1949–50[12] Second Division130130
1950–51[13] 18000180
Total31000310
Ashford Town1952–53Kent League4040
1953–54242303[14] 1303
1954–55160103[15] 0200
Total4424061543
Career total244211606126622
  1. Book: Litster, John . Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players . PM Publications . Norwich.
  2. Web site: David Nelson . 6 September 2017 . www.arsenal.com . en.
  3. Web site: David Nelson . 20 December 2016 . 11v11.com.
  4. Book: Haynes, Graham . Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 . Coumbe . Frank . Yore Publications . 2006 . 0955294916 . Harefield . 115.
  5. Web site: Kaufman . Neilson . VE Day WW2 players as at May 2020 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200609183620/https://www.leytonorient.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/VE-DAY-WW2-players-as-at-May-2020.pdf . 9 June 2020 . 18 July 2020 . 84–85.
  6. Web site: David Nelson . 5 December 2015 . Fulhamweb.
  7. Web site: Dave Nelson . 14 March 2022 . holmesdale.net The Palace Supporters' Website . en-gb.
  8. Web site: David Nelson Player Profile . 14 March 2022 . The Nuts and Bolts Archive.
  9. Web site: Managers . 15 August 2023 . Nuts and Bolts Archive.
  10. Web site: Dave Nelson – Players – Colchester United . 18 July 2020 . www.coludata.co.uk.
  11. Book: 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC . 1989 . 0951526200 . White . Eric . 379–382.
  12. Web site: Seasonal Stats – 1949–50 . 27 December 2018 . QPRnet.
  13. Web site: Seasonal Stats – 1950–51 . 27 December 2018 . QPRnet.
  14. 2 appearances and 1 goal in Kent League Cup, 1 goal in Kent Senior Shield
  15. Appearances in Kent Senior Cup

Manager

Team! rowspan="2"
FromToRecord
Ashford Town21 March 195331 May 1955
Total

External links