#64/#26 KEN NIXON
Right-handed Pitcher
What came before: It will forever be a mystery why “Buck” Nixon, born in the singularly named Defeated, Tennessee, never got so much as a taste of the majors with the Braves – or anybody after a huge 1965 campaign.
Signed at age 17 in 1961, he ground out some solid seasons before his 1965 explosion. The Tennessee native was Texas League Pitcher of the Year, going 19-8 with 19 complete games out of 28 starts. He posted 232 innings but ended up with a nifty 3.10 ERA and a spot on the Braves' 40-man roster.
That 1966 season: The question of Where's Nixon became a clarion call when he began the season going 7-1, 2.90 over 12 games (eight starts). He moved to Richmond, but for only eight games (four starts (1-2, 4.95). The year came and went and the Braves made numerous moves to fortify their staff. But Still. No. Ken Nixon.
What happened next: A pointless return to the Texas League ended prematurely. In his final pro season, he was 2-1, 5.85 and worked only 20 innings. In parts of four seasons of pitching in the Texas League, he had a record of 33-12, 3.23.
Nixon returned to Tennessee, where he owns a massive farm in Carthage and rules as Chairman of the Board of the Tennessee Farmers Cooperative.
