NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players: No. 47 - Donald "Red" Nelson, Rockford

The 47th player on our list was an all-around athlete who ended up contributing to Rockford for decades after his playing career as a business owner.

Donald "Red" Nelson was among a plethora of athletes from Rockford High School in the early 1930s who would go on to play major roles in college football. Nelson was a starting offensive and defensive guard for the 1931 and 1932 Rabs teams, which went 10-7-4 with Red leading the lines. He was named first team All-Conference in 1932 and his play earned him a scholarship to the University of Iowa.

At Iowa, he played baseball and threw the javeline for the track team along with playing football. After playing on the freshman team in 1933, Nelson lettered in 1934, 1935 and 1936. He was a starter his final two seasons and was named second team All-Big 10 as a senior. These were middling Iowa teams. The Hawkeyes were 4-2-2 in Nelson's junior year and 3-4-1 his senior year.

Still, he showed enough for the Brooklyn Dodgers of the NFL to sign him to a contract. Nelson ended up playing in all 11 games for the Dodgers in 1937, who went 3-8-1, starting four.

One season of pro football was enough for Nelson. He earned his degree from Iowa in 1938 and returned to Rockford to go into business. He started out selling Packard automobiles in 1939, becoming the youngest Packard dealer in the U.S. at the age of 24. He sold the dealership in 1947 and bought into O&H Foundry on 15th Street. He become sole owner of the business in 1963 and continued in that role until selling out to another company in 1991.

Nelson spent his last years serving the community on a variety of boards, including SwedishAmerican Hospital, Emmanuel Lutheran Church and Forest Hills Country Club until his death in 2004. 

No. 47 - Donald "Red" Nelson, Rockford
Year	Level	School	Accomplishments	Points
1931	High School	Rockford	Winning Team	1
1932	High School	Rockford	First Team All-Conference	2
1933	College	Iowa	Played on Power 5 Freshman Team	2
1934	College	Iowa	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
1935	College	Iowa	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
			Winning Team	1
1936	College	Iowa	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
			Second Team All-Big Ten	1
1937	NFL	Brooklyn	Signed with Brooklyn Dodgers	1
			Played in NFL	3
			Starter	1
Total				26

NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players