David Nelson (footballer)

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

For the American footballers, see David Nelson (running back) and David Nelson (wide receiver).

David Nelson
Personal information
Full name David Nelson[1]
Date of birth 3 February 1918[1]
Place of birth Douglas Water, Scotland
Date of death 27 September 1988(1988-09-27) (aged 70)[2]
Place of death West Haven, Connecticut, United States[2]
Position(s) Wing half
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
0000–1936 Douglas Water Thistle
1936 St Bernard's 10 (7)
1936–1946 Arsenal 27 (4)
1940 → Motherwell (guest)
1942 → Celtic (guest)
→ Tottenham Hotspur (guest)
1945–1946 → Colchester United (guest)
1946–1947 Fulham 23 (3)
1947–1950 Brentford 106 (5)
1950–1952 Queens Park Rangers 31 (0)
1952–1953 Crystal Palace 12 (0)
1953–1955 Ashford Town (Kent)
Total 209 (19)
Teams managed
1953–1955 Ashford Town (Kent) (player-manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

St Bernard's

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.[3] He scored seven goals in 12 appearances during the second half of the 1935–36 season and left the club in May 1963.[3]

Arsenal

Nelson moved to England to sign for First Division club Arsenal for a £200 fee in May 1936.[4] He made just 9 appearances before the Second World War broke out in September 1939,[5] but had experienced some joy in the reserve team, winning the London Combination in 1936–37, 1937–38 and 1938–29.[4] He made 164 appearances for the Gunners during the war and made further competitive appearances during the 1945–46 and 1946–47 seasons,[5] before leaving Highbury in December 1946.[4] Nelson made 29 competitive appearances and scored four goals in over a decade with Arsenal.[4]

Wartime guest appearances

Nelson guested for Motherwell, Celtic, Clapton Orient, Tottenham Hotspur, Brentford and Chesterfield during the Second World War and made three appearances for Southern League club Colchester United during the 1945–46 season.[6][7]

Fulham

Nelson joined Second Division club Fulham in December 1946, as a makeweight in the deal that took Ronnie Rooke to Arsenal.[2] He made 24 appearances and scored four goals before departing Craven Cottage in July 1947.[2][8]

Brentford

Nelson and Fulham teammate Peter Buchanan signed for newly relegated Second Division club Brentford in a £6,000 deal in August 1947.[6] He was a regular at wing half and departed Griffin Park in February 1950, having made 113 appearances and scored five goals.[6]

Queens Park Rangers

Nelson transferred to Second Division club Queens Park Rangers in February 1950, in an exchange deal for Bill Pointon.[6] He remained at Loftus Road for just over two years and departed having made 31 appearances.[1]

Crystal Palace

Nelson dropped down to the Third Division South to sign for Crystal Palace in March 1952, but made just 12 appearances before departing the following year.[1][9]

Ashford Town (Kent)

Nelson saw out his career with a player-manager spell at Kent League club Ashford Town between March 1953 and December 1955.[6]

Personal life

Nelson served as a sergeant in the British Army during the Second World War.[4] He emigrated to the United States in the late 1950s and worked at a car plant in St. Louis.[2] At the time of his death, he was living in Greenwich, Connecticut.[2]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
St Bernard's 1935–36[3] Scottish Second Division 10 7 2 0 12 7
Arsenal 1936–37[5] First Division 8 3 0 0 8 3
1938–39[5] 9 1 0 0 9 1
1945–46[5] — — 2 0 2 0
1946–47[5] First Division 10 0 — 10 0
Total 27 4 2 0 29 4
Colchester United (loan) 1945–46[7] Southern League 3 0 — 3 0
Fulham 1946–47[8] Second Division 23 3 1 0 24 3
Brentford 1947–48[10] Second Division 40 3 2 0 42 3
1948–49[10] 40 2 4 0 44 2
1949–50[10] 26 0 1 0 27 0
Total 106 5 7 0 113 5
Queens Park Rangers 1949–50[11] Second Division 13 0 — 13 0
1950–51[12] 18 0 0 0 18 0
Total 31 0 0 0 31 0
Career total 173 15 10 0 183 15

References
  1. "David Nelson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  2. Kaufman, Neilson. "VE Day WW2 players as at May 2020" (PDF). pp. 84–85. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  3. Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
  4. "David Nelson". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  5. "David Nelson". 11v11.com. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  6. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 115. ISBN 0955294916.
  7. "Dave Nelson - Players - Colchester United". www.coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  8. "David Nelson". Fulhamweb. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  9. "Crystal Palace FC". 12 July 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  10. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 379–382. ISBN 0951526200.
  11. "QPRnet – Seasonal Stats – 1949–50". Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  12. "QPRnet – Seasonal Stats – 1950–51". Retrieved 27 December 2018.
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