Background
Andy was born in Athens, Alabama, where his father Guy was chief pitmaster for Limestone County.
Andy was born in Athens, Alabama, where his father Guy was chief pitmaster for Limestone County.
He was a four-sport athlete at Athens High School playing football, basketball, track and baseball, serving as co-captain of the 1951 team and winning letters for each of his four years he completed.
He currently owns and runs a small Barbecue establishment, Andy Nelson"s Barbecue. Nelson played quarterback and defensive back for then Memphis State University. A four-year letterman (1952 -1956), he gained All-American recognition in his senior season.
In 1956, He led the Tigers to their first-ever bowl game, the Burley bowl in Johnson City, Tennessee, where they were victorious over East Tennessee State.
Nelson was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the eleventh round of the 1957 NFL Draft. Having played both quarterback and defensive back in college, the Colts made him a defensive player.
Nelson started 12 games his rookie season, with 5 interceptions for 29 yards. The following season, Nelson would record 8 interceptions for 199 yards and 1 touchdown.
The Colts would repeat in 1959 and over his seven-year career with the Colts, Nelson would rack up 32 total interceptions for 365 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The Colts traded Nelson to the New York Giants for the 1964 season, his last in the NFL. Nelson spent two years as a player and defensive coach with the Harrisburg Capitols of the Atlantic Coast Football League, the Colts" farm team, where he led the league in pass defense before going on to be named the head football coach. Nelson went on to become Defensive Coordinator for the Norfolk Neptunes, winning a league championship in 1971, and then the Chambersburg Cardinals of the Seaboard Football League, winning another championship in 1973. Nelson was also defensive coordinator for Philadelphia Bell in the World Football League from 1974-1975.
