Playing career

Nelson joined Port Vale

Port Vale F.C.

Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

, initially on trial, in September 1913 under the name Andy Weir. He scored 'a magnificent goal' on his debut in a 5-1 defeat at Bury

Bury F.C.

Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...

 Reserves in a Central League match on 4 October 1913. He made the line-up for the FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 first round 3-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers F.C.

Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....

 on 10 January 1914. In the summer

Summer

Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...

 of 1914 he reverted back to his actual surname, though Nelson was to be picked less frequently than "Weir". His lack of first team action made him restless and he was thus transferred to Stalybridge Celtic

Stalybridge Celtic F.C.

Stalybridge Celtic are an English full time professional football club from Stalybridge, Greater Manchester in North West England. The club, which plays its home matches at Bower Fold, is currently in the Conference North in the sixth tier of the English football league system...

in March 1915.