(Editor’s note: This is the last in the series of Remarkable Men.)
Johnny Nelson was truly a remarkable man.
He traveled with a carnival as a child. His father was a magician. He hung out at his grandmother’s house in Celeron, N.Y., with a little girl who would grow up to be Lucille Ball. He traveled throughout Pennsylvania but settled long enough in Bradford to graduate from high school in 1927; he lettered in high school basketball, became a celebrated sports writer and managing editor for the Bradford Era from 1928 until he enlisted in World War II in 1942. He became the first sports writer for the new Bradford radio station WESB in 1947. He left Bradford in 1952 but came back in 1991 after a long career as the sports information director at Alfred University in Hornell, N.Y. Back “home” in Bradford, he then wrote an entertaining weekly column for the Bradford Era combining heartwarming, nostalgic, and humorous stories of Bradford until his death in 1994 at the age of 85.
John W. Nelson Jr. was born in Brookville on Sept. 2, 1908. His father, John W. Nelson Sr., had played baseball with local Bradford teams, was a catcher for Rube Waddell back in the old “Iron and Oil” League of the 1890s, and later played for Buffalo in the International League. This love of sports passed onto his only child, young “Johnny” Nelson.
As a fourth-grade student at Third Ward School, Nelson spent summers traveling with his uncle’s carnival. He said “to a youngster, it was exciting with all the lights, the noise, the music and moving to a new town every week. After I was with the show for a couple of weeks, everyone knew my uncle owned the outfit, so I could walk into any of the tents. I left the show in August to return to classes at the 3rd ward school. I knew I was not going to be a carny man all my life. The memories faded; I never went back.”
His father, John Nelson, Sr. was a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, a friend of the great Harry Blackstone, and an incredibly talented magician. He often performed in local clubs, company picnics, and community events but his son Johnny, like his carnival experience, chose another career path. Being a magician’s kid was just one stop on the amazing life of Johnny Nelson.
Graduating from high school, he got a job as a sports writer, Johnny Nelson covered every local sport, from high school football, basketball and track, local golf, tennis, bowling, and horse racing and wrote commentary on national sports as well.
One of his favorite accomplishments was naming the local high school sports teams. Interviewed in 1991, Johnny explained how it came about. “In those days, you could get away with things. We didn’t have any nicknames for high schools. So I gave them one. Bradford had started playing their football games at night. So I named them the Owls. I never asked anybody, I just did it. And you know the funny thing? Nobody every complained. I named six of them and they still use the names today.” And if you are wondering, Nelson named the Bradford Owls, Smethport Hubbers, Port Allegany Gators, Kane Wolves, St. Bernard Ramblers, and the Eldred Eagles. All were named in the early 1930s.
Johnny also seemed to have a knack for running into famous people and enjoyed meeting every one of them. He met Ronald Reagan when he was governor of California, chatted with Pearl Bailey at Newark airport, and at 12 years old played with Lucille Désirée Ball (Lucille Ball) in Celeron, N.Y., who lived just two blocks up the street from his grandmother’s house.
He spoke with Lou Gehrig’s widow after the funeral for Mrs. Babe Ruth, and knew future Baseball Hall of Fame baseball player Warren Spahn (who played in the Bradford PONY league club). He also knew Jesse Owens, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Stan Musial, and Bear Bryant among others.
Upon his return and retirement to Bradford in 1991, then mayor Arvid Nelson declared June 22, 1991 as “John W. Nelson Jr. Day” and Johnny Nelson said, “this is the most outstanding thing I’ve ever had happen.”
His column in the Bradford Era, which often touched on “the good old days” as well as a variety of subjects, was a favorite among readers, even those who did not particularly follow sports.
In one column he wrote, “I like to see kids playing baseball on the corner lot where they run the game under their rules even if they hit one through the kitchen window. I enjoy a fellow at the piano playing and singing the old songs. I like wieners and sauerkraut, also hot mince pie with a slice of cheese. An all-time favorite is Abbott and Costello doing “Who’s on First?” I like to sit at major airports and just watch the people.”
Johnny Nelson died on Dec. 30, 1993 after an illness of three weeks. He was 85 years old.
