Oracle Online

Clarence A. Nelson became Athletic Director of Hamline in 1946. Nelson was inducted into the Hamline hall of fame in 1976. Nelson was an innovator, to say the least. Among other things, he fathered a rare and competetive extramural sports program at Hamline. He started an extramural sports program in which Hamline’s best intramural sports teams would compete against other colleges’ intramural teams. These sports included bowling, badminton, basketball, and many others.

“He talked about lifetime sports for men and women before it was fashionable,” said Director of Development for Athletics Dana Johnson. “The weight room is open to everyone and he believed in fitness for everyone.”

In addition, Hamline reupholstered torn benches and replaced worn carpeting. “Some improvements weren’t necessarily for the dedication, but needed to get done,” said Athletics Director Dan O’Brien.

“It does look a lot nicer inside, but there’s no new equipment or anything,” said junior weight lifter Dan Sullivan.

In addition to being an Athletic Director, Nelson supported Hamline in other ways. He had two sons and four grandchildren graduate from Hamline, and according to Johnson there is a Clarence Nelson Scholarship. The scholarship is for Health and Physical Education majors. “We promised Len we would honor him.”

Before coming to Hamline, Nelson was a teacher and coach at Bigfork from 1926-28, the swimming and track coach at Austin from 1928-36, and the Athletic Director at Litchfield School District from 1936-43.

In 1958, he won the Paul Schmidt Award for outstanding service to health and physical education for public schools. And in 1977 he won the Lou Keller Award for outstanding service to health and physical education for colleges.

The Plaque memorializing Nelson can be found outside his fitness center in the field house. It reads: “He lived what he taught and taught what he lived.”

“He was a real strong advocate for health,” said O’Brien. “That’s why it’s called the ‘fitness center,’ not ‘the weight room.’”

“Whether you were an athlete or not, you knew him,” said Johnson. “Clinker, as everyone called him, made an impact on all the students here.”