There are people who believe that if Dick Nelson crams another statistic or historical fact about the Denver Prep League into his head, he could become so top-heavy that he won’t be able to stand up straight.
But any worries about harmful packing can be put to rest. Thanks to a project conducted by John Andrew, the assistant athletic director for the Denver Public Schools, Nelson has a better place to store his findings.
The Denver Prep League is announcing its “100th anniversary football team” that lists the names of players who achieved stardom over the last 110 years. The initial list has about 500 names, beginning with Robert Muther of Denver West and Herb Vandermoer of Denver East in 1903. Andrew anticipates the list will grow some with worthy players who might have been overlooked.
“I’m a history buff. I’ve always been that way,” Nelson said when asked about his involvement. “You find that accomplishments done in the past can vanish. They can just disappear. This satisfies my itch to get it all down on paper. It’s sad, but the Denver Prep League doesn’t exist anymore in football.”
Nelson didn’t compile the anniversary team alone. It was done by committee work organized by Andrew, and it won’t stop with just football. They are going on to other sports and eventually hope to have anniversary teams selected in all sports.
Nelson warmed up for his work in helping to select the “Big Team” while on the faculty at Denver East High School. He taught English and journalism from 1964-95. While at East, he authored a book titled “Flights of Angels” and was instrumental in organizing and conducting an athletic hall of fame that inducted new members every year.
The Denver East football honor roll includes the likes of Chuck Williams, the Babbs brothers — Chris and Dave — Richard Tate, Steve and Dave Sidwell and a host of others.
Many of the notable players at Denver East are easily found on the anniversary team. But Nelson also has found it rewarding to learn about the players from the other schools in the league.
When he first arrived at East, stories of the accomplishments on the athletic fields of Art Unger from Manual (1934) filled the conversation on sports. While doing the committee work on the anniversary team, he was struck by descriptions of the play of Gaspar Perricone of Denver South (1946), John Karamigios of Denver West (1941), who was called the Galloping Greek from Cherry Creek; and Fred Steinmark of Denver North (1947).
Nelson grew up in Peetz, a small town near Sterling. He became a three-sport athlete in high school because “everybody played” in a small school.
His mother, Dolores, steered him toward sports.
“We had a town baseball team, and my mom taught me how to keep score,” Nelson said. “That was our major-league season. My mom was a real sports character. When a player from another town was asked who the toughest opponent was, he said Dolores Nelson in Peetz.”
When Nelson left Peetz and enrolled at the University of Denver, he stayed in sports. Coach Hoyt Brawner took him on as manager of the basketball team, and he made trips to Madison Square Garden and UCLA with the Pioneers. Bill Peay played for DU in those years and later became a cohort in the DPS.
Nelson’s retirement from East almost 20 years ago has given him more time to be involved. He has gotten more into keeping statistics in football, basketball and baseball. He found Don Evans, the former football coach at North, to be a welcome co-worker as the public address announcer at the baseball games.
“I’ve had great experiences,” Nelson said. “I still keep a lot of information in my head. I hope that someday there will be a creditable history on paper of the DPS athletic program. I believe people will find this anniversary team in football as interesting as I did.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296, imoss @denverpost.com or twitter.com/irvmoss
Nelson bio
Born: March 12, 1940, in Sterling
High school: Peetz
College: University of Denver
Family: Wife Janet and daughters Kristine, Valarie and Rachel.
Hobby: History buff.
Wish list: To see a creditable history of the DPS athletic program
Residence: Lakewood
