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Robert Sidney Nelson
Baltimore Orioles
Outfield
Born: August 7, 1936, Dallas, TX
Signed: Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent, June 20, 1955
Major League Teams: Baltimore Orioles 1955-1957
Died: July 22, 2011, Mesquite, TX (age 74)
Tex Nelson was signed as a bonus baby by the Orioles following his high school graduation and was required to stay on the Orioles roster for his first season. He appeared sparingly with the Orioles, playing in 25 games in 1955, 39 games in 1956 and 15 games in 1957. His roommate Brooks Robinson gave him his "Tex" nickname, which joined his high school nickname of the "Babe Ruth of Texas." Nelson batted .205 in his big league career with a pair of doubles, a pair of triples and 11 RBIs. He played in the minors for four more seasons until 1961, ultimately retiring and returning to Texas. Nelson collected 75 home runs and 243 RBIs over four and a half years in the minors.
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| 2005 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #RO-BN |
January 18, 2003 in Plymouth Meeting, PA - Card #236
In January 2003, I added seven cards to our set, purchased at a baseball card show held inside the Plymouth Meeting Mall. I paid $45 for the seven cards, which included this Nelson card. My Topps set building had stalled out somewhat in 2003 as I had switched over to become primarily a Phillies collector, and I was also spending my disposable income trying to put together the early Topps Heritage sets. This was the first of only 18 cards we added to our set in 2003, but we did cross the threshold of needing less than 100 cards to complete the set late in the year.
The Card / Orioles Team Set
This is Nelson's first and last readily available baseball card, and he'd sign reprints of the cards for inclusion in the 2005 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs set. His only other somewhat recent baseball card can be found in the 1991 Crown/Coca-Cola Baltimore Orioles set. (Nelson appeared on a few Orioles oddball issuances in the mid-1950s.) The back of the card highlights his high school baseball career and mentions his bonus baby status in the final cartoon panel. The Topps artist depicts Nelson's Texas high school baseball team as cowboys riding horses.
1956 Season
First Mainstream Card: 1956 Topps #169
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1): 1956
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2005 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #RO-BN
7 - Nelson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/26/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
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