Cotton Nash obit

Cotton Nash, once a Kentucky basketball ‘rock star,’ dies at age 80

He was not on the list.

Charles Francis “Cotton” Nash, one of Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball’s all-time greats, died early Tuesday. He was 80. According to Lexington attorney Patrick Nash, one of Cotton Nash’s three children, the former UK basketball star had been battling significant medical issues since around Thanksgiving. “Baptist (Health) Hospital was taking good care of him but, finally, he just wasn’t able to overcome everything,” Patrick Nash said Tuesday. In a stellar three-year varsity career (1961-64) playing for Adolph Rupp’s Wildcats, Cotton Nash scored 1,770 points and grabbed 962 rebounds.

A 6-foot-5, 220-pound forward from Lake Charles, La., Nash was Kentucky’s all-time leading scorer when his UK career ended. It was a mark he held for six years, until Dan Issel (2,138 career points) subsequently left Kentucky in 1970 with the scoring record. An unusually versatile athlete, Nash departed UK and become the rare player who played in the National Basketball Association, the American Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. According to Baseball Almanac, only 13 men have played in both the NBA and Major League Baseball. Nash was one of them — and he played in the ABA, too. “I’m on a very short list of guys,” Nash said in a 2020 interview.  

And I’m grateful for that unique experience.” What Rex Chapman was to the Kentucky Wildcats basketball experience in the 1980s, what Kyle Macy was to the 1970s, Nash was to the 1960s:

The UK hoops star who crossed over and became a statewide matinee idol. Hollywood handsome with a distinctive thatch of blonde hair (the inspiration for his nickname), Nash was a star from the moment he joined Rupp’s varsity in 1961-62. Forced to play pivot at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds on undersized Kentucky teams, Nash averaged a double-double for his UK career — 22.7 points and 12.3 rebounds. “Cotton was a tremendous athlete. Really good speed for a guy his size,” Nash’s former UK teammate Larry Conley said in 2020. “He had a lot of strength, (and) great moxie about how to play the game.” Former Kentucky center John Adams (UK varsity 1962-65) said Tuesday that Nash was “one of the best basketball players I ever saw, played with or against. He worked at it, too. People thought it came easy for him but he stayed after practice to work on his game a lot of the time.” Nash was born and spent his early years in New Jersey.

As a little boy, he fell in love with baseball — and New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle. Yet, when Cotton was 11, his father’s job transfer took the family to Indiana. The move to a place where basketball was king initiated the process that brought Nash to UK. Cliff Barker, one of the starters on Kentucky’s 1948 and ‘49 NCAA title teams, coached Nash in Indiana. “(Barker) tipped Adolph off about me,” Nash said in 2020. Before Nash’s junior year of high school, his dad was again transferred. Nash wound up playing his final two high school seasons in Lake Charles, La. By his senior year,

Nash’s athletic prowess was such that LSU recruited him as a tight end for football, Kentucky and UCLA wanted him for basketball and major-league baseball scouts vied for his signature. “I wanted to go in the SEC and the only place logical if you wanted to play basketball, at that time, was Kentucky,” Nash said in 2020. At UK, Nash made the AP All-America team all three seasons. Yet in Nash’s three seasons of varsity play, Kentucky won only one NCAA Tournament game — an 81-60 victory over Butler in the 1962 Mideast Region semifinals.

Still, Nash left a lasting mark on UK basketball. In his 1976 book “Kentucky Basketball’s Big Blue Machine,” author Russell Rice noted that, before Nash, UK home games in Memorial Coliseum did not routinely sell out. But when season tickets went on sale before Nash’s senior year, Rice wrote that the lines to buy them were longer than a city block. “From that point on, there would be no season UK basketball tickets for sale to the general public,” Rice wrote. “‘The House that Rupp Built’ had become ‘The House that Cotton Filled.’”

The Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) selected Nash in the second round of the 1964 NBA Draft. He played for the Lakers until February 1, 1965, when the Lakers acquired Bill McGill and waived Nash. The the San Francisco Warriors claimed Nash for the $1,000 waiver price.

Nash played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) with the Kentucky Colonels during the 1967–68 ABA season. He averaged 8.5 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, and 1.2 assists per game.

In May 1964, Nash signed with the Los Angeles Angels and made his professional baseball debut with the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League. In August 1967, the Angels traded Nash with cash to the Chicago White Sox for Bill Skowron. The White Sox promoted him to the major leagues on September 1.

During spring training in 1969, the White Sox traded Nash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Ed Hobaugh. Nash played for the Columbus Jets in the International League that year. Hobaugh retired in June and the White Sox asked for Pittsburgh to return Nash to their farm system. Nash refused to report to the Tucson Toros, and the White Sox traded him to the Minnesota Twins for a player to be named later (later determined to be Jerry Crider). Nash reported to the Denver Bears. The Twins promoted him to the major leagues in September. He played for the Evansville Triplets in 1970, earning another promotion to the major leagues that September.

Nash played for the Portland Beavers in 1971. The Louisville Colonels of the International League acquired Nash from the Twins for Mike Derrick in January 1972. However, the Colonels' acquisition of Cecil Cooper made Nash expendable, and he did not make their final preseason roster cut. He joined Denver during the 1972 season.

According to Baseball Almanac, there have only been 13 players to play in both the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. In alphabetical order, here are the 13 players who have pulled off a rare pro sports double: ▪ Danny Ainge. The former BYU basketball star originally chose pro baseball. In three seasons (1979-81) as, mostly, a Toronto Blue Jays third baseman, Ainge didn’t hit much — .220 batting average with two career home runs and 37 RBI. Transitioning back into basketball, the 6-foot-4, 175-pound Ainge found much more success. Playing in the NBA from 1981-95 for Boston (eight seasons), Phoenix (three), Portland (two) and Sacramento (two), Ainge averaged 11.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists a game. ▪ Frank Baumholtz. A major-league outfielder from 1947-57 — three years with the Reds, six with the Cubs and two with the Phillies — Baumholtz hit .290 for his career and finished second in the National League in 1952 with a .325 batting average. A 5-10 guard in basketball, Baumholtz played one season (1946-47) with the Cleveland Rebels of the Basketball Association of America (which, after three seasons, rebranded as the National Basketball Association). He averaged 14 points, but made only 29.8 percent of his field-goal tries. ▪ Hank Biasatti. A native of Beano, Italy, Biasatti had brief “cups of coffee” in both pro baseball and basketball. He appeared in 21 games with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1949 as a first baseman and pinch hitter. He got two hits, both doubles, in 24 at-bats. During the 1946-47 Basketball Association of America season, the 5-11, 175-pound guard appeared in six games for the Toronto Huskies and scored six points. ▪ Gene Conley. A 6-8, 225-pound behemoth, Conley pitched in the big leagues in 1952 and from 1954 through 1963. He played six seasons for the Braves — one year in Boston, five in Milwaukee — then two seasons with the Phillies and three with the Red Sox. Conley went 91-96 in his career with a 3.82 ERA but appeared in four All-Star Games. As a basketball player, the power forward played in 1952-53 with the Boston Celtics, returned to the NBA to play for the Celts from 1958 through 1961, then did a final stint with the New York Knicks from 1962-64. Conley average 5.9 points and 6.3 rebounds for his NBA career. ▪ Chuck Connors. A first baseman, Connors spent 1949 with the Brooklyn Dodgers and 1951 with the Chicago Cubs. In his two-season career, he hit .238 with two homers and 18 RBI. A forward/center, the 6-5, 190-pound Connors played from 1946-48 with the Boston Celtics and averaged 4.5 points while making 25.2 percent of his shots. Once he gave up pro sports, Connors had a four-decade career in show business, most notably starring from 1958-63 as Lucas McCain in the television series “The Rifleman.” ▪ Dave DeBusschere. As a pitcher with the Chicago White Sox in 1961 and ‘62, DeBusschere appeared in 36 games and went 3-4 with a 2.90 ERA. A 6-6, 220-pound power forward, DeBusschere built a far more impressive legacy in the NBA. Playing in the league from 1962-1974, he averaged a double-double, 16.1 ppg and 11 rpg, for his career. After playing for the Detroit Pistons from 1962 until the middle of the 1968-69 season, DeBusschere was traded to New York midseason and became a key cog on the Knicks’ NBA championship teams in 1969 and 1973. An eight-time All-Star, DeBusschere was also named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team in 2021-22. ▪ Dick Groat. A college basketball star at Duke, Groat had his greatest pro sports impact as a baseball shortstop. In a career that began in 1952, then ran from 1955-67, Groat played for the Pirates (1952, 1955-62), Cardinals (1963-65), Phillies (1966-67) and Giants (1967). For his career, Groat hit .286 with 2,138 hits and 707 RBI. In 1960, he hit .325 and was named National League MVP. Groat played on two World Series championship teams, the 1960 Pirates and the 1964 Cardinals. In basketball, Groat, a 5-11, 180-pound guard, played one season (1952-53) for the Fort Wayne Pistons and averaged 11.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists. ▪ Steve Hamilton. A Columbia, Ky., native and Morehead State alumnus, the 6-6, 190-pound Hamilton pitched in the big leagues from 1961 through 1972. He toiled for Cleveland (1961), the Washington Senators (1962), the Yankees (1963-1970), the White Sox (1970), the Giants (1971) and the Cubs (1972). A lefty, Hamilton had a 40-31 record with a 3.05 ERA with 42 saves in his career. In two seasons (1958-60) as a Minneapolis Lakers forward, Hamilton averaged 4.5 points and 3.7 rebounds. After his playing days, Hamilton returned to his college alma mater and coached the Morehead State baseball team for 10 seasons (230-173) before serving as the Eagles athletics director from 1988 until his death in 1997. ▪ Mark Hendrickson. A 6-9, 240-pound left-hander, Hendrickson pitched in the big leagues from 2002 through 2011, playing for Toronto (2002-03), Tampa Bay (2004-06), the L.A. Dodgers (2006-07), Florida (2008) and Baltimore (2009-2011). He compiled a 58-74 won/loss record and a 5.03 ERA. Prior to baseball, the Washington State grad served as an NBA power forward from 1996 through 2000. He averaged 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds while playing for Philadelphia (1996-97), Sacramento (1997-98), the Nets (1998-99, 1999-2000) and Cleveland (1999-2000). ▪ Cotton Nash. The former UK men’s hoops star was a slugging first baseman/outfielder in the minor leagues. However, in brief MLB stints with the Chicago White Sox (1967) and Minnesota Twins (1969 and ‘70), Nash logged only 16 career major-league at-bats and collected three hits and two RBI. In his rookie season (1964-65) in the NBA, Nash averaged 3.0 points and 1.8 rebounds in 45 games split between the Los Angeles Lakers (25) and the San Francisco Warriors (20). Nash also played in the American Basketball Association. In 39 games with the Kentucky Colonels in 1967-68, Nash averaged 8.5 ppg and 4.9 rpg. ▪ Ron Reed. A Notre Dame product, the 6-6 215-pound Reed pitched in the majors from 1966 through 1984. In a career spent with Atlanta (1966-75), St. Louis (1975), Philadelphia (1976-83) and the White Sox (1984), Reed went 146-140 with a 3.46 ERA and 103 saves. In his two seasons with the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, (1965-67), Reed averaged 8.0 ppg and 6.4 rpg. ▪ 

Dick Ricketts. Another pitcher/power forward, the 6-7, 215-pound Ricketts played only one season, 1959, in MLB. Pitching for the Cardinals, Ricketts appeared in 12 games, nine starts, and compiled a 1-6 record with a 5.82 ERA. A Duquesne product, Ricketts played in the NBA from 1955 through 1958 with the St. Louis Hawks (one season) and the Rochester and Cincinnati Royals. Ricketts averaged 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in his NBA career. ▪ Howie Schultz. A 6-6, 200-pound first baseman, Schultz played in the majors from 1943 through 1948. He hit .241 with 24 homers and 208 RBI in a career spent with Brooklyn (1943-47), Philadelphia (1947-48) and Cincinnati (1948). A basketball power forward, Schultz split his first season (1949-50) between the Anderson Packers and the Fort Wayne Pistons. After a season spent in a rival league, Schultz returned to the NBA and played for the Minneapolis Lakers from 1951 through 1953. Schultz averaged 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds for his NBA career.