| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 26, 1907 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | October 22, 1989 (aged 82) Middlebury, Vermont, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Middlebury College |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1938 | Union (NY) (line) |
| 1939–1941 | RPI |
| 1946–1968 | Middlebury |
| Baseball | |
| 1933–1936 | Middlebury |
| 1937–1938 | Union (NY) |
| Ice hockey | |
| 1932–1936 | Middlebury |
| 1936–1939 | Union (NY) |
| 1946–1964 | Middlebury |
| 1981–1983 | Middlebury (W) |
| Lacrosse | |
| 1954–1968 | Middlebury |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1946–1956 | Middlebury (assistant AD) |
| 1956–1969 | Middlebury |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 98–81–12 (football) 211–177–7 (men's ice hockey) 14–14–1 (women's ice hockey) 9–26–1 (lacrosse) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 2 Vermont State Conference (1948–1949) | |
Walter John "Duke" Nelson (April 26, 1907 – October 22, 1989) was an American college athletics coach and administrator. He was the head American football coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) from 1939 to 1941 and at Middlebury College from 1946 to 1968 compiling a career college football coaching record of 98–81–12. At Middlebury, he teams won back-to-back Vermont State Conference championships in 1948 and 1949. Nelson graduated from Middlebury in 1932.[1]