Charles “Cotton” Nash, a three-time All-American men’s basketball player and a University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Famer, died May 23, 2023 in Lexington, Kentucky at the age of 80. Nash was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on July 24, 1942.
Hollywood handsome with a distinctive thatch of blonde hair (the inspiration for his nickname), Nash was a star from the moment he joined Adolph Rupp’s varsity in 1961-62. Nash (1962-64) appeared in 78 for the Wildcats and averaged 22.7 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. He was a member of two Southeastern Conference championship squads and was tabbed an All-American during all three seasons of his basketball career. Nash earned All-SEC Eastern Division honors as a member of the baseball team, and also participated in track and field as a discus thrower.
In the 1964 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers selected Nash in the second round with the 14th overall pick. The Los Angeles Angels signed him to a professional baseball contract, too.
Nash would become just one of 13 players to appear in both the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball following his career at UK. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers and San Francisco Warriors during the 1964-65 NBA season, and he also played nine seasons of professional baseball, including three in the MLB with the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins as a first baseman and outfielder. Nash also played in the American Basketball Association with the Kentucky Colonels in 1967-68.
The Minnesota Twins acquired Nash from the Chicago White Sox on July 15, 1969 for a PTBNL and that player turned out to be pitcher Jerry Crider. As a power-hitting first baseman/outfielder, Nash had some monster years in Class AAA. He belted 28 homers for Indianapolis in 1967, 33 for Evansville in 1970 and 37 with 102 RBI for Portland in 1971. Nash appeared in just 6 games for Minnesota in 1969 and 4 games in 1970. In those 10 games Nash was 3 for 13 with two RBI and hit .231. After spending all of 1971 with the Twins AAA Portland Beavers team where he hit 37 home runs, had 102 RBI and hit .290. He ended his pro baseball career with AAA Denver in 1972. Overall, Nash spent nine seasons playing professional baseball, mostly in the minors.
Charles Francis “Cotton” Nash Lexington Herald Leader obituary