Rice Remembers Horton Nesrsta
7/25/2022 5:56:00 PM | Football
Led the nation in punt returns in 1952
Rice Athletics mourns the passing of former Owls Horton Nesrsta, who was a standout punt returner for the Owls and a member of the 1954 Cotton Bowl championship team before embarking on a successful business career while also officiating games in the Southwest Conference for over 20 years.
Nesrsta came to Rice from San Antonio and was a three-year letterman. He set Rice single-season punt return records in 1952 while leading the nation with 44 returns for 536 yards (12.1 average) highlighted by a pair of 61-yard touchdowns. He also holds the Rice career mark for punt return yardage with 893.
In addition to his long career as an official in the Southwest Conference which included annual bowl assignments, Nesrsta returned to the field in 1983 as an official in the USFL, officiating games throughout the startup league's three-year run.
In 1967, he joined with Texas Longhorns head football coach Darrell K Royal, former major leaguer Pete Runnels and former Texas All-American swimmer Hondo Crouch in founding Camp Champions in Marble Falls, Texas.
The family will gather for a private interment at Oak Hill Cemetery in Flatonia, Texas and has requested that in lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be directed to Rice University Athletics – Football Program, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251.
Nesrsta came to Rice from San Antonio and was a three-year letterman. He set Rice single-season punt return records in 1952 while leading the nation with 44 returns for 536 yards (12.1 average) highlighted by a pair of 61-yard touchdowns. He also holds the Rice career mark for punt return yardage with 893.
In addition to his long career as an official in the Southwest Conference which included annual bowl assignments, Nesrsta returned to the field in 1983 as an official in the USFL, officiating games throughout the startup league's three-year run.
In 1967, he joined with Texas Longhorns head football coach Darrell K Royal, former major leaguer Pete Runnels and former Texas All-American swimmer Hondo Crouch in founding Camp Champions in Marble Falls, Texas.
The family will gather for a private interment at Oak Hill Cemetery in Flatonia, Texas and has requested that in lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be directed to Rice University Athletics – Football Program, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251.
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