George Nelson, a native of Livingston, Mont. was a 1960 graduate of Western Montana College (WMC) with a Bachelor of Science in secondary education with a major in physical education and a minor in social science.
Nelson was a member of Bulldog teams that either won the conference title, tied for it and didn’t finish any lower than second place. He played on teams that made two straight appearances to the NAIA national tournament.
Nelson was a three-time all-conference selection. He was elected Bulldog team captain for his senior season and was selected the Montana Collegiate Conference’s most valuable player.
Nelson’s high school football coaching career was highlighted by a 60-11 overall record at Belgrade, Mont. In all, Nelson coached teams that won six district titles, three divisional titles and the 1973 Class B State Championship at Belgrade. In addition to the state championship hardware, he was named Class B Football Coach of the Year by the Montana Coaches’ Association. Nelson was selected as one of the coaches of the East-West Shrine game
He returned to Western in 1974 as head football coach. His six-year Bulldog coaching career included a 1977 conference championship and a Frontier Conference Coach of the Year award. During his tenure as head football coach, he served one term as president of the Frontier Conference and a term as vice-president of the Montana Education Association unit at Western Montana College.
Nelson showed his versatility in coaching as an assistant coach for the 1967 Bulldog baseball team, Frontier Conference champions. He was inducted with the team in 2021 becoming another Hall of Famer inducted as an individual and as part of a team.
Nelson retired from coaching in 1980 but his time at Western was not over. In 1981, he became the director of the Western Montana College Alumni Association. It was under his leadership that the WMC Athletic Hall of Fame was created. He closed his Bulldog career as director of student teaching and placement and retired in 1996.
He passed away Oct. 16, 2022. After his passing, his family created the George and Ellen Nelson Family scholarship.
