[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 51 (Tuesday, April 13, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E513]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING NELSON SMOTHERMAN ON A LIFETIME OF SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART GORDON

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 13, 2010

  Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Nelson 
Smotherman, who is retiring after 60 years as a sports statistician in 
middle Tennessee.
  Nelson began keeping statistics for sports broadcasts in 1950. His 
first broadcast was for a Murfreesboro Central football game for WGNS 
radio. This March, Nelson worked his 4,000th game.
  He has been called a legend and a walking encyclopedia, whose 
remarkable mind for sports statistics and 60 years of experience in the 
field have made him a pillar of our State's athletic programs.
  Nelson's institutional memory has been an invaluable asset for the 
athletes of middle Tennessee. In his time in the booth, Nelson 
witnessed the integration of high school sports teams. He saw women's 
basketball shift from a 6-on-6 half-court game to 5-on-5 full-court 
play. He had a chance to work with some 50 different broadcasters. He 
maintains basketball records that go back to when the game was new, and 
has kept stats at State tournaments in four different sports. Nelson 
has been inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Tennessee Secondary 
School Athletic Association and has a softball field named in his honor 
in Murfreesboro.
  Nelson's impact on the lives of young people in our community reaches 
well beyond the broadcast booth. He has served as Sunday School 
Secretary at the First Presbyterian Church in Murfreesboro for more 
than 50 years, and he continues to help coach the Oakland High School 
girls' softball team.
  Nelson, your involvement in middle Tennessee sports will be missed, 
but I wish you all the best. I hope you enjoy a long and happy 
retirement.

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