Brian Nelson

Marcus Merchants 1974 – 2004

Brian played and managed 30 plus years for the Marcus Merchants starting in 1974 with a group of close friends after high school graduation. He was primarily a second baseman for the first few years of his playing career. With a need for more pitching Brian started training in his machine shed throughout the winter to help fill the void, he started pitching around the 1983 season while continuing to play second base when not on the mound. Brian was an exceptional defender as well as a productive .300 hitter for his career. During the 1980’s the Marcus Merchants boasted one of the best infields in the state which include Steve Specht at third base, Randy Hanson at shortstop and Brian at second base. Turning a double play in men’s fastpitch is no easy task and those three did on regular basis and made it a thing of beauty to watch.

The late 1980’s was the height of Men’s Fastpitch in the state of Iowa and Brian was an integral part of the best teams to ever play for the Marcus Merchants. In the 1980’s it seemed that every small town had their own fastpitch team, making it very difficult to qualify for a state tournament. Brian and the merchants were just starting to turn the corner as they started to become a mainstay in state tournament scene.

In 1984 the Merchants qualified for the state “B” tournament and finished 4^th. During that season Brian played in 62 games hitting .299 and sporting a pitching record of 16-6 with an ERA of 3.37. The Merchants finished the season overall with at 44-18 record. In 1987 the Merchants qualified for the State B tournament again and finished second overall. The team finished that season with a 40-20 record, Brian had an individual pitching record of 10-5 with a 3.58 ERA.

1988 was probably the best team the Marcus Merchants had. The Merchants jumped up a class by qualifying for the State “A” tournament by placing 3^rd in the substate tournament. They traveled to Des Moines and ended up winning the state “A” tournament in 5 straight games. Not only did they win the tournament in five straight games they managed to do without giving up a single run! Brian hit nearly .300 again that season and finished with a pitching record of 17-5 with a 3.10 ERA. The overall team record for the season was 50-16.

1989 through early 1990’s the merchants continued to qualify for various state tournaments. The roster started to turn over Brian continued to be a mainstay in the lineup as well key in the recruitment of new players joining the Merchants throughout the years. He still continued to pitch and eventually moved into playing more first base in games he didn’t pitch.

Brian and the merchants started to re-charge in the late nineties and early 2000’s. The merchants continued to qualify for various state tournaments. Throughout the years Brian stats continued to remain a steady contributor on the diamond. A prime example of his durability was shown during the 1996 season, his 22^nd year of playing hitting .309 and had a pitching line of 18-11 with ERA of 4.74.

Brian’s last year of softball came in 2004. That year Brian and the Merchants finished the season with a 24-14 record and won the state “C” tournament. Individually Brian hit .319 and finished a 5-5 pitching record with a 4.18 ERA.

Not only did Brian play for the Merchants he also was the manager for over 20 years of his playing career. As manager Brian set up the schedule, set up the umpires, and prepared the field. He did all of this for the love of the game, he wanted the Merchants to continue to field a team year in and year out so he took on these roles to make sure the team would continue to play.

Marcus Merchant softball was a fraternity of closely knit relationships throughout the years linking many individuals together as a source of pride and connection in Marcus and the surrounding communities. Much of the credit for the sustainability and connection of the Merchants is due to Brian’s energy and enthusiasm to bleed Marcus Merchant green!

Brian loves talking about the teams he played for and the players he played with. He still can recap almost every season at a moment’s notice, which lead into stories of games and players he had the opportunity to compete with and against throughout the years. His longevity allowed Brian to connect generations of Marcus Merchants and was able to play with many of his own family members and many sons of former players he played with and against.

Brian truly loved the game of men’s fastpitch and contributed a great deal to the game through his tireless effort and unending enthusiasm for Merchant Softball. The Marcus Merchants believe Brian would be a great addition to the Hall of Fame. Brian’s Hall of Fame in our book already!