Cotton Nash
Charles Francis "Cotton" Nash (born July 24, 1942) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and National Basketball Association (NBA) forward.
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Personal information | |
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Born | Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. | July 24, 1942
Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Lake Charles (Lake Charles, Louisiana) |
College | Kentucky (1961–1964) |
NBA draft | 1964 / Round: 2 / Pick: 12th overall |
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers | |
Playing career | 1964–1968 |
Position | Small forward |
Number | 33, 17, 44 |
Career history | |
1964–1965 | Los Angeles Lakers |
1965 | San Francisco Warriors |
1967–1968 | Kentucky Colonels |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Career NBA and ABA statistics | |
Points | 470 (5.6 ppg) |
Rebounds | 273 (3.3 rpg) |
Assists | 65 (0.8 apg)
Baseball career |
First baseman / left fielder | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
September 1, 1967, for the Chicago White Sox | |
Last MLB appearance | |
October 1, 1970, for the Minnesota Twins | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .188 |
Hits | 3 |
Strikeouts | 3 |
Runs batted in | 2 |
Teams | |
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Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |

Basketball career
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Nash played collegiately for Adolph Rupp's legendary University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball team, where he was named a first-team All-American in 1964. He went on to play in the NBA for the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Francisco Warriors during the 1964–65 NBA season. He had his most success in the American Basketball Association with the Kentucky Colonels, averaging 8.5 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, and 1.2 assists per game.
Baseball career
While at the University of Kentucky, Nash also played on the Kentucky baseball team. In 1963, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star.[1][2][3] He went on to appear in 13 games over three MLB seasons with the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins. One of those games was with the White Sox on September 10, 1967, in the ninth inning of Joe Horlen's no-hitter; he replaced Ken Boyer at first base and recorded all three putouts in the inning.[4]
Multi-sport legacy
Nash is one of 13 multi-sport athletes to have played in both the NBA and Major League Baseball. The thirteen are: Danny Ainge, Frank Baumholtz, Hank Biasatti, Gene Conley, Chuck Connors, Dave DeBusschere, Dick Groat, Steve Hamilton, Mark Hendrickson, Nash, Ron Reed, Dick Ricketts and Howie Schultz.[5]
References
- "Kettleer Notes". Barnstable Patriot. Barnstable, MA. April 11, 1963. p. 6.
- "1963 Cape Cod Baseball League Champions". Barnstable Patriot. Barnstable, MA. September 12, 1963. p. 7.
- "All-Star Rosters". Cape Cod Standard-Times. Hyannis, MA. July 20, 1963. p. 5.
- "Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox Box Score, September 10, 1967". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
- "Baseball (MLB) and Basketball (NBA) Players | Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs
- College career stats at BigBlueHistory.net
- Cotton Nash Biography from Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)