Ed Nass nearing a half century of service in the press box

For nearly half a century, one element of Morehead State football has not changed.
 
Ed Nass.
 
Nass, who turns 81 this month, is looking forward to his 49th season on the MSU statistics crew. Nass makes his contribution to the team at no charge. He considers his role to be a privilege, one he describes as a diamond in his crown.
 
He says his interest in sports began "when I was a wee little guy." He listened to baseball games on the radio when he was 4 or 5 and, when pro football came around on Sundays, he couldn't get enough.
 
Nass played football when he was in elementary school, but says he wasn't good enough to play high school ball. He loved the sport, though, and always wanted to stay involved.
 
The Eagles provided him a way to stay very close.
 
Nass came to MSU as a faculty member in 1963. He was granted emeritus status as an associate professor of industrial education and technology when he retired in 2004. He joined the statistics crew in 1968 quite by chance.
 
Martin Huffman of the MSU public relations department invited Nass into the press box for a game.
 
"And while sitting there, somebody said something. And I said, 'oh, that was number twenty so-and-so.'" Nass said. "That went on for a while and finally the current SID (sports information director, Keith Kappes) at the time said 'would you like to make this a fulltime experience?'
 
"And I said 'yes, what do I have to do?' He said 'how about being our defensive coordinator – calling out plays and tackles, interceptions, fumbles?' Whatever the defense had to do or accomplished."
 
A stats star was born.
 
Nass wound up keeping defensive statistics "for about the first 38, 40 years." He even served as "honorary defensive coach" for several games, sharing team meals with the players throughout the week.
 
These days, student members of the stats crew have taken over defensive responsibilities. Nass has been "kind of floating."
 
"Last year I was responsible for the team members who were on the field for kickoff, punt return, the various play responsibilities, and for the defense – just the overall number count of who got in to play and for the minutes that he got."
 
Much has changed in keeping stats over the years.
 
When he started, Nass kept records by hand. After the game, he would fill in the blanks on a pre-printed "ditto" master sheet.
 
Now, "the computer does all the work practically," Nass said. "All you have to be is the eyes and ears for the process."
 
Nass is a gamer.
 
One season, he worked despite having to sip his food through a straw. He had broken his jaw while playing softball.
 
When he had triple-bypass heart surgery in 2003, he recalls missing two or three games. But he came back to work the Pioneer Football League championship contest against Drake.
 
Has he ever tried keeping statistics for other sports?
 
"Well, I did basketball for a few years, and I got fired," Nass said.
 
He says he got rankled when MSU Coach Wayne Martin roamed out of the coaches' box and blocked the view from press row.
 
Nass says he took as much as he could before finally telling the coach to sit down. The next day, Nass got a phone call saying that his services were no longer needed.
 
Nass recalls telling the late Steve Hamilton, who was then athletics director, "I just blew my top and maybe it wasn't professional and maybe I shouldn't have done it, but you can just take so much of that kind of thing, so I just flipped."
 
Football is his game, though, and Nass has plenty of good memories. Atop the list is when the Eagles won their first Ohio Valley Conference championship. Of course, he fondly recalls Phil Simms, the quarterback who went on to become a Super Bowl MVP. And Gary Shirk, who played tight end for Simms with the New York Giants.
 
And, yes, it is "definitely" more fun keeping stats when the Eagles are successful.
 
"Yet, I feel like they really need as much support as they can get even when they're not doing well," Nass said. "So I've never let them down. I've never been critical of them or anything like that, either privately with family or when I'm around other folks. In fact, I've probably stood up for them whenever people were cutting them down and everything."
 
Being a part of the stats crew requires focus, something he lacked when he was a fan.
 
"Somebody could run the ball back 100 yards or intercept the ball and make a touchdown, and I would be jabbering with somebody next to me," Nass said. "I'd have to ask what happened with the crowd roaring. So this has caused me to be more attentive to the game, and I really got the feel of the full game from start to finish because I had to be alert to who caused the fumble, who recovered the fumble, who got the interception, how far did he get, who on the other team tackled him, and all the ins and outs that you are familiar with in the game of football."
 
Closing in on the half-century mark in the press box, Nass has no thoughts of stepping down.
 
"As long as I'm able to get up and down the stadium steps and the guys want me," he said. "I think it's also one of the things that keeps me young, being around all those young people. I keep getting a year older, but all the young people I'm in contact with are always 18 to 21, and I think that's a psychological benefit."