Cotton Nash, three-sport athlete who starred for Kentucky basketball and baseball, dies at 80
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Cotton Nash, a three-sport athlete during his time at Kentucky, died Tuesday. He was 80.
Kentucky's athletics department confirmed news of his death Tuesday afternoon.
Nash played basketball and baseball and competed in track and field for the Wildcats. He was a three-time All-American on the hardwood, earned All-SEC Eastern Division honors on the baseball diamond and threw the discus.
“As a three-sport competitor, Cotton Nash was one of the greatest all-around athletes ever to wear the Blue and White,” Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart said in a statement. “His accomplishments in basketball and baseball made him a rarity in American sports history. We are thankful for all he did for the University of Kentucky and our sympathies are with (wife) Julie and their family and friends.”
Nash played for legendary UK basketball coach Adolph Rupp and the Wildcats from 1961-64. By the time he left Lexington, he was Kentucky's all-time leading scorer with 1,770 points. His 22.7-points-per-game average still ranks second in program history to Dan Issel's 25.8. Nash was the quickest player in school history to 1,000 points, doing so in just 45 games, a record that still stands.
Nash is the only player in program history to average at least 20 points per game as a sophomore, junior and senior.
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Nash's first name was Charles; an uncle gave him his famous nickname as a child, calling him "Cotton-top" because of his bright blond hair.
Nash, whose No. 44 jersey hangs from the Rupp Arena rafters, earned All-American and All-SEC honors all three seasons he played for the Wildcats. In 78 games, he tallied 48 double-doubles, tied with Oscar Tshiebwe for second most in Kentucky's annals.
Along with his points-per-game average and double-doubles mark, Nash still ranks among the school's all-time top 10 in numerous categories, including: total points (ninth), 30-point games (21, second) rebounds (962, fifth), rebounds per game (12.3, fourth) and rebounds in a single game (30 twice, third), field goals attempted (1,548, fifth), free throws made (480, third) and attempted (652, third) in a career as well as makes in a single game (17, tied for second).
After graduating from Kentucky, Nash went on to play in both the NBA and MLB, one of only 13 people ever to accomplish that feat. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers, who selected him in the second round with the No. 14 overall pick in the 1964 NBA Draft, and the San Francisco Warriors during the 1964-65 season. He spent three seasons in the MLB as a first baseman and outfielder, playing for the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox. Nash also played in the American Basketball Association, spending the 1967-68 campaign with the Kentucky Colonels.
Once his playing days ended, Nash went into real estate and also coached minor league baseball.
He eventually moved back to Lexington, where he and his wife got into the equine industry, breeding horses for harness racing.
One of the Nash's horses, Magic Shopper, won the 1995 Jugette, the most prestigious harness race for fillies. Nash also owned Artistic Vision, a horse elected into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2011.
Nash is survived by his wife Julie, their three children and spouses and nine grandchildren.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Cotton Nash obit: Kentucky basketball, baseball, track and field star
