Andy Nelson, Baltimore Colts champion and restaurateur, dies

Andy Nelson, a two-time NFL champion with the Baltimore Colts in the late 1950s who later opened a popular barbecue restaurant in Maryland that bears his name, died Friday at age 92.

Luke Nelson, his grandson, confirmed the news in an email to The Baltimore Sun, writing that his grandfather was “a local legend in Baltimore and was beloved by many.” A Facebook post from Andy Nelson’s Southern Pit Barbecue in Cockeysville also announced his death.

“Many of you came to know Andy over the years here at the restaurant — whether through stories of his championship days with the Baltimore Colts, lessons on the perfect way to smoke pork, or simply his joyful tales about family,” the post reads. “Family, friends, and this community meant everything to him, and he appreciated each and every one of you for filling his life with love and joy.

“He was a friend to all, but most importantly, he was the heart of our family. Our hearts are broken, and he will be deeply missed. His legacy will live on in the memories he created on the field, at the pit, and in the lives of everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.”

Andy Nelson played safety for Baltimore from 1957 to 1963 and starred on both the 1958 and 1959 NFL championship teams. In eight professional seasons, including one with the New York Giants in 1964, he recorded 33 interceptions and scored three touchdowns.

Born May 27, 1933, and raised on a 200-acre cotton farm in Alabama, Nelson played quarterback and defensive back for then-Memphis State University, earning All-America honors as a senior and helping lead the Tigers to their first bowl game in 1956. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education.

Nelson was picked by the Colts in the 11th round of the 1957 NFL draft and started 12 games as a rookie at safety, recording five interceptions. He was named second-team All-Pro the following season after tallying eight interceptions, helping Baltimore win its first NFL championship with a 23-17 overtime victory over the Giants at Yankee Stadium in what has become widely known as “The Greatest Game Ever Played.”

He became a first-team All-Pro the following season and made a pivotal interception in the Colts’ second world championship, a 31-16 victory over the Giants at a packed Memorial Stadium in 1959.

“Those were special times,” Nelson told The Baltimore Sun in 2012. “I was so fortunate to come to the Colts. How many guys get to play on two world champions in the first three years of their careers?”

After his NFL career, Nelson spent two years as a player and defensive coach with the Harrisburg Caps of the Atlantic Coast Football League, the Colts’ farm team. He spent the next five years coaching, including with the Norfolk Neptunes and Chambersburg Cardinals of the Seaboard League and the Philadelphia Bell in the World Football League.

He was inducted into the Limestone County Hall of Fame in Alabama, the Memphis State Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.

Nelson and his wife settled in Lutherville and, in 1981, opened Andy Nelson’s BBQ on York Road in Cockeysville. It was a family affair, as four of Nelson’s seven children and four of his 16 grandchildren worked there. Bettye J. Nelson, his wife of 57 years, died in 2010.

This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon.

Date Created: 1983-12-28 Copyright Notice: Baltimore Sun Folder Description: Nelson, Andy Folder Extended Description: 267-195 | (1-2-3 | (football Player) |Baltimore Colts Title: NELSON, ANDY (FOOTBALL PLAYER) Subject: NELSON, ANDY (FOOTBALL PLAYER)

Date Created: 1960-10-19 Copyright Notice: Baltimore Sun Folder Description: Nelson, Andy Folder Extended Description: 267-195 | (1-2-3 | (football Player) |Baltimore Colts Title: NELSON, ANDY (FOOTBALL PLAYER) Subject: NELSON, ANDY (FOOTBALL PLAYER)

Date Created: 1960-07-21

Copyright Notice: Baltimore Sun

Folder Description: Nelson, Andy

Folder Extended Description: 267-195 | (1-2-3 | (football Player) |Baltimore Colts

Title: NELSON, ANDY (FOOTBALL PLAYER)

Subject: NELSON, ANDY (FOOTBALL PLAYER)

COCKEYSVILLE,MD–DECEMBER 7, 2004– Andy Nelson, former Baltimore Colts football player, owns and works at his bbq stand, Andy Nelson’s. Story about former Colts football players still working. Digital Image # 0143. Staff Photo by LLOYD FOX

Kenneth K. Lam / Baltimore Sun

Andy Nelson, former Colts All-Pro defensive back, is pictured hoilding 25 pound BBQ pork shoulder at his restaurant. The BBQ restaurant, he operates with his family, cooks five hundred pounds of the pork shoulders three times a week.

Andrew Golden / Baltimore Sun

A photo for former Colts Andy Nelson on the wall of Nelson’s Cockeysville restaurant.

Baltimore Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron

Charles Winner talks with former Colts defensive back Andy Nelson, center, and defensive end Gino Marchetti.

Andrew Golden / Baltimore Sun

Former Colts defensive back Andy Nelson greets a fan at his Cockeysville restaurant on the eve of his 84th birthday.

Andrew Golden / Baltimore Sun

Former Colts Andy Nelson, right, and Rick Volk meet at Nelson’s Cockeysville restaurant on the eve of Nelson’s 84th birthday.

Show Caption

1 of 9

Date Created: 1983-12-28 Copyright Notice: Baltimore Sun Folder Description: Nelson, Andy Folder Extended Description: 267-195 | (1-2-3 | (football Player) |Baltimore Colts Title: NELSON, ANDY (FOOTBALL PLAYER) Subject: NELSON, ANDY (FOOTBALL PLAYER)

Expand