By Nick Gerhardt
To know Bill Nelson, you have to understand Minnesota amateur baseball.
Minnesota amateur baseball has large personalities across the state. Nelson fit the bill, but those large characters also have an immense passion for townball and few embodied it as well as Nelson.
Nelson died April 19 due to pancreatic cancer. His involvement in amateur baseball spanned nearly his entire lifetime. His impact on the Dundas Dukes and Minnesota amateur baseball will endure.
“He is kind of a representation of what townball is and what it should be,” Dukes manager Mike Ludwig said. “Super passionate and committed … everything he did out there was to make it great for everyone to experience. He’s a perfect representation of what it should be. He was a guy with a huge heart who loved the game”
Nelson, a former Minnesota Baseball Association board member and contributor, fell in love with the small town of Dundas, which is just south of Northfield.
A wooden statue of Nelson stands outside the diamond in Dundas, which will rightly bear his name after the Dundas city council voted April 28 to name the field in his honor. There will be a celebration of life event and field dedication for Nelson June 28 at 1 p.m. at Memorial Park in Dundas.
Nelson joined the Dukes in 1975 and helped lead one of the most formidable powers in Minnesota amateur baseball. Dundas captured state titles in 1982, 1988, 1998 and 1999. Nelson won two titles as a player in 1982 and 1988 and two more as a manager in 1998 and 1999. Dundas also took second place six times during Nelson’s tenure with the team.
As a player, he became known as a fierce competitor on the mound with a devastating curveball that buckled many hitters. He grew up outside of Albert Lea in Clarks Grove and made his way to Augsburg University. Following his college career, he embarked on an amateur baseball career that made him one of the largest figures. After graduating Augsburg in 1974, he played with Dick’s Place and earned all-tournament honors in the state tournament that season. He added all-tournament selections in 1976 as a draftee for Miesville and then in 1982 with Dundas.
Nelson’s bulldog mentality on the mound permeated as part of his personality. He ardently advocated for issues important to him. Nelson expressed his thoughts on a variety of issues within the amateur baseball community through the years. Near the top of that list included in-season tournaments. Nelson and Dundas became the first organization to host in-season tournaments. Now those tournaments serve as a highlight of the season for many teams and a terrific revenue source for the hosts.
“He had very strong principles and wasn’t afraid to take a stand on things,” said longtime friend Rick Esse. “He could be a little stubborn, too. Nobody I knew was better at negotiating and standing up for himself.”
Nelson also had a passion for writing about amateur baseball. He wrote for the MBA website for many years and maintained a blog dedicated to amateur baseball. Nelson single-handley wrote recaps of MBA state tournament games for several years and even came back to cover the 2023 state tournament, even though it meant he missed watching his Dundas Dukes in the state tournament.
Nelson promoted amateur baseball across the state. He started a newsletter to publicize the untold stories of amateur baseball and highlight tournament results. Nelson created rankings for the MBA, which remain the most popular news item each year.
In 2022, when Dundas hosted the state tournament with Faribault and Miesville, Nelson put together a state tournament MVP program where he conducted interviews with nearly every living state tournament MVP. In addition, he organized a banquet ahead of the state tournament to honor the MVPs. The keynote speakers included former MLB players Jim Eisenreich and Terry Steinbach, who both also played amateur baseball.
“He did a heck of a job with that banquet,” MBA Vice President Dennis Brennan said. “I think that’s something I don’t think anybody could repeat.”
The banquet and state tournament MVP booklet served as one of the ways Nelson tried to recognize people he felt deserved highlighting. Nelson helped campaign for Joe Driscoll’s inclusion in the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame. Driscoll remains the only hall of fame member included only for his playing career. Others in the hall of fame have received the honor for their community involvement and impact.
“Bill respected guys like Joe, who were baseball lifers who would make the game better,” said former Dukes player Scott Nelson.
Nelson also passionately advocated for Larry Gallagher to be inducted into the hall of fame. Nelson and Gallagher, who died in 2022, played together for Dick’s Place in the early 1970s and Gallagher went on to umpire baseball games for almost 60 years. He still hasn’t been inducted into the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame.
Nelson used his writing to help recognize people in the Minnesota amateur baseball community. An English teacher at Kenyon, his writing ability brought light to townball, which had otherwise received little recognition outside of local newspaper reports and the occasional story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
His last story for the MBA highlighted the Plein family from Red Wing. Dan, Justin and Jackson Plein have served as the official scorers of the MBA state tournament. Dan started in 2000, Dan’s son, Justin, followed in 2006 and Justin’s son, Jackson, started around 2015. It’s one of the most overlooked roles at the state tournament but Nelson felt it needed a spotlight.
“That was a very special piece that he did,” Dan Plein said. “That’s the Bill that people don’t know, that side of him.”
Nelson continued to write up until his death. After his cancer diagnosis, he created a Substack website to write updates about his prognosis. His writing provided a transparent and honest reflection of his illness.
“He loved to write and was good at it,” former Dukes slugger Lew Olson said. “Doing that Substack was one of those cathartic things to keep people informed and get his thoughts out.”
MANAGING THE DUKES
Nelson had an uncanny memory and could give pitch by pitch accounts of games, especially the big ones.
“He was one of those guys who was always one step ahead,” said former MLB pitcher and townball legend Dana Kiecker. “He would look ahead whether it was an offensive or defensive situation. He was very prepared. The other thing that really stands out as a manager, he was there to help kids get better. He would go and find college kids that he knew who had the potential to play college. … He made a lot of average players better and they had better college careers.”
Nelson served as the head baseball coach at Carleton College for 12 years and had a knack for finding ballplayers, both for the Knights and the Dukes. His expansive network of baseball friends kept him in the loop about people looking to play and helped him bring Kiecker to the Dukes.
Tim Thull played for Nelson at Carleton College and with the Dukes. Nelson’s impact on Thull and others extended beyond baseball. Thull sent Nelson a text message before his death that expressed his appreciation.
“I understand things are rough for you but I wanted to reach out to you and tell you how much you’ve meant to me. I was a kid, like many others on the team trying to find our way in life when we played for the Dukes and baseball was the consistent thing in our lives that created a competitive spirit, passion and fun. Most of all it created life long friendships and bonds that could never break. You were always at the center of it, Bill, and helped create a culture that many envied. I always talk with pride about our team, your leadership and the Dukes. For many of us, it’s the shining point in our lives that we can always look fondly upon. You were our leader and captain and guided us through many ups and downs and many after game discussions over beers. I attribute most of my successes in life were built on my playing days at Dundas. … I hope you can find comfort in knowing you changed the lives of many outstanding young men all of whom are proud to call you friend, mentor and manager. Thank you for all you’ve done to change the trajectory of my life and I’m sure of many others for the better.”
BUILDING UP MEMORIAL PARK
When Olson started playing with the Dundas Dukes the field left a lot to be desired. Nelson took it upon himself to start transforming the field. It started with maintenance work but Nelson’s biggest impact on the field came when he established charitable gambling for the Dukes with pull tabs at the L&M Bar in Dundas.
“Everything that is out there is a direct result of charitable gambling,” Ludwig said.
Memorial Park is now considered one of the top five ballparks in the state and has hosted two state tournaments, first in 2003 and again in 2022. Charitable gambling helped fund improvements to the field, which sits beside the Cannon River and has flooded through the years. About 10 years ago the club launched a capital campaign to build a new grandstand. The park now boasts a large pressbox and stadium seating. The Dukes have also erected a storage shed along the third base line and have plans for more improvements.
The Dukes had a good fan base when Nelson arrived, but as he took on a bigger role with the team, he continued to build the base by holding first pitch ceremonies and community fundraisers for the team.
“He did lots of things, not just for Dundas, but for baseball itself,” Olson said. “He was always pushing for things he perceived as improvements. He was a tireless proponent for Dundas and baseball itself.”
