Pepperdine Mourns Passing of Harry Nelson
3/7/2019 2:03:00 PM | General, Football
MALIBU, California – The Pepperdine University Athletics Department mourns the passing of Harry Nelson '50, a member of Pepperdine's inaugural football team and a long-time supporter of the Waves' teams.
Â
Nelson passed away this weekend at the age of 96 in Kent, Ohio.
Â
A native of Huntington Park, Calif., Nelson enrolled at Pepperdine after serving in World War II. He was a member of the first-ever Pepperdine football team in 1946, which won the Will Rogers Bowl and posted an 8-1 record. That team was later inducted into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame. He majored in physical education and also competed in baseball and track.
Â
Nelson earned fame and a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for having attended 19 consecutive Olympic Summer Games, a streak that began in 1932. He authored a book called "Following the Flame: A 76-Year Olympic Journey."
Â
Nelson was a founder of the annual MITAY (Made It Through Another Year) celebration for George Pepperdine College Alumni. He was a former president of the Pepperdine Alumni Association and a key member of the Pepperdine Football Players Alumni Association, which started an endowed scholarship fund to benefit the school's student-athletes.
Â
Services in Ohio and Los Angeles will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for support for the Pepperdine Football Players Endowed Scholarship Fund and/or the USCGC Taney (WHEC/WPG37) restoration project, part of the Historic Ships of Baltimore.
Â
Nelson passed away this weekend at the age of 96 in Kent, Ohio.
Â
A native of Huntington Park, Calif., Nelson enrolled at Pepperdine after serving in World War II. He was a member of the first-ever Pepperdine football team in 1946, which won the Will Rogers Bowl and posted an 8-1 record. That team was later inducted into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame. He majored in physical education and also competed in baseball and track.
Â
Nelson earned fame and a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for having attended 19 consecutive Olympic Summer Games, a streak that began in 1932. He authored a book called "Following the Flame: A 76-Year Olympic Journey."
Â
Nelson was a founder of the annual MITAY (Made It Through Another Year) celebration for George Pepperdine College Alumni. He was a former president of the Pepperdine Alumni Association and a key member of the Pepperdine Football Players Alumni Association, which started an endowed scholarship fund to benefit the school's student-athletes.
Â
Services in Ohio and Los Angeles will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for support for the Pepperdine Football Players Endowed Scholarship Fund and/or the USCGC Taney (WHEC/WPG37) restoration project, part of the Historic Ships of Baltimore.
