On September 26, 1971, in the first Eagles game at the newly opened Veterans Stadium, Nelson scored a fourth quarter touchdown on a then-record 102-yard return of a missed field goal by Dallas Cowboys kicker Mike Clark. It was the Eagles' only score of the contest in a lopsided 42–7 loss.[1] The previous holder of the record was his coach at the time Jerry Williams. In the previous off-season, the league had allowed missed field goals kicked into the end zone to be returned.
He is also a member of the Beta Eta chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.