| Duke Nelson | |
| Birth Date: | 26 April 1907 |
| Birth Place: | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| 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) |
| Championships: | Football 2 Vermont State Conference (1948–1949) |
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]