Robert Nelson

Robert L. "Red" Nelson, 86, of Arkadelphia died Thursday, March 3, 2011, following a lengthy illness.

Known by friends and family alike simply as Red, he was one of Arkansas' top sportsmen - a star athlete in high school and college; a high school coach; a high school and college football and basketball official for many years; a baseball umpire and track starter; a businessman who built one of the largest retailers of team athletic supplies in the South; a fisherman; and an avid dove, duck and quail hunter.

Red was born Oct. 14, 1924, in Benton to Ernest and Leanna Nelson. He grew up in a family of five during the depths of the Great Depression in a shotgun house across the street from Benton High School. His father was the city street superintendent who would get Red, his older brother and his older sister up early on Sunday mornings to help clean the streets downtown before people showed up for church.

In 1942, Red graduated from Benton High School, where he had starred in football and basketball. During the summers, he played both independent league baseball and fast-pitch softball. Red set what was then a Benton High School record for most points in a basketball game when he scored 44 points against Hope. In football, he was the team's left halfback and punter. He played in the state's first all-star high school football game at North Little Rock. In fast-pitch softball, Red became known as the state's best pitcher while playing for a team sponsored by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., which was building the Alcoa plant at the time. In exchange for pitching for the team, Red was given a summer job at union wages even though he was only 17. He made more money than his father that summer.

Red attended what's now Ouachita Baptist University at Arkadelphia on an athletic scholarship. He starred in football, basketball and baseball. He earned 11 letters in college - four in football, four in basketball and three in baseball. That was the maximum since Ouachita did not field a baseball team his freshman year. The first Ouachita football team he played on as a freshman in 1942 lost only one game.

Red joined the U.S. Army Air Forces and served for two years. He trained as a bombardier on a B-17. While in basic training at St. John's University in Minnesota, Red was named "most athletic" for his group of cadets. One of the people he beat out for that title was Bobby Thomson. On Oct. 3, 1951, Thomson would hit what's perhaps the most famous home run in major league baseball history. It was known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" and capped the New York Giants' historic comeback against the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the National League pennant.

Red returned to Ouachita, where he met the love of his life, Carolyn Caskey of Des Arc. Red and Carolyn celebrated their 64th anniversary on Aug. 11.

Just as he had done in high school, Red set what was then a school basketball record for most points in a game at Ouachita, scoring 38 points at a time when high-scoring games were rare. He graduated from college in 1948 and was hired as the coach at Newport High School. He coached all sports at Newport and is still remembered fondly by his athletes there.

After three years at Newport, Red joined his older brother, Lowell, in business at Arkadelphia. Red had already become known as one of the state's up-and-coming young coaches but decided he could better provide for his family as a businessman. The Nelson brothers built Southwest Sporting Goods Co. into what is now the state's largest provider of athletic supplies to high school and college teams.

Red spent many days on the road calling on high school and college coaches. At one point, he knew virtually every coach in the state on a first-name basis. He could drive to any school in Arkansas without having to ask for directions, he knew the name of every mascot and he likely knew the records at each school for whatever sport was in season. When he was not selling athletic supplies, he was officiating games. He often would work basketball games six nights a week, working contests at the junior high, senior high and college level. Red was the state's premier track starter, shooting the gun at everything from the Arkansas High School Meet of Champs to the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference Championships.

Red was inducted into the Ouachita Sports Hall of Fame and received the distinguished alumni award from the Benton Athletic Memorial Museum.

Red fished for virtually anything that would bite. He loved Arkansas and was familiar with almost all of its lakes and streams. He also was a superb shot, looking forward each September to the start of dove season and spending winter mornings duck hunting. The late George Kell, a Detroit Tiger great, had gotten Red interested in duck hunting when Red was coaching at Newport and George would return to Swifton each winter. Red never lost his passion for duck hunting. He was one of the founders of the Open Banks Duck Club in the Ouachita River bottoms south of Arkadelphia. His favorite form of hunting was quail hunting, though. He always kept at least two and sometimes three bird dogs - pointers, English setters, Brittany spaniels.

Most of all, Red loved his family. He delighted in attending athletic contests and spending time in the outdoors with them. He loved to cook the fish he caught for friends and family members. His fish fries in the back yard of his Arkadelphia home and on the shores of DeGray Lake became legendary.

Red was a member of First Baptist Church of Arkadelphia and a deacon in the church. He could be found each Sunday in his usual seat in the balcony, though he occasionally would be caught looking at his watch if the sermon was running long and the Dallas Cowboys had a noon kickoff.

Red is survived by his wife Carolyn; a daughter, Lynda Samons, and her husband Michael of El Dorado; a son, Rex Nelson, and his wife Melissa of Little Rock; four grandchildren, Leigh Samons of Denton, Texas; Geoffrey Samons and his wife Margaret of Mount Ida; and Austin Nelson and Evan Nelson of Little Rock; and four great-grandchildren.

Red was preceded in death by his son Bob, his parents Ernest and Leanna, his brother Lowell and his sister Mary.

Visitation will be held on Monday, March 7, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Ruggles-Wilcox Funeral Home in Arkadelphia. Following a private family burial, a memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 8, at the First Baptist Church of Arkadelphia. Because Red so enjoyed catching and cooking fish, the family asks that all those attending the memorial service stay for a noon catfish fry in celebration of his life. The special Mardi Gras fish fry will be held at the church. Purple and gold will be the colors of the day since they are Mardi Gras colors and also the Ouachita team colors.

The family requests that memorials be made to the Ouachita Tiger Gridiron Club, Ouachita Baptist University, 410 Ouachita St., Arkadelphia, Ark., 71998. Red was a founder of the club and rarely missed Ouachita football games after he retired from college officiating.

The family would like to thank the staff of Parkway Village in Little Rock for the care they provided him after he moved there from his Arkadelphia home in September 2008.