Early Life
Nettles was born in San Diego, California. His unusual name derives from his mother's dislike of the names Greg and Craig - and her combining the two to produce "Graig." "My Dad was away at the war, so he didn't have any say." The name also led to confusion for baseball card companies; the error-prone inaugural 1981 Fleer baseball card set includes an error card where his name is spelled "Graig" on the front, and "Craig" on the back.
Nettles attended San Diego State University on a basketball scholarship. He played for the San Diego State Aztecs basketball and baseball teams. In 1964 and 1965, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Alaska Goldpanners of the Alaska Baseball League, helping to lead the team to two league championships.
Read more about this topic: Graig Nettles
Famous quotes related to early life:
“Many a woman shudders ... at the terrible eclipse of those intellectual powers which in early life seemed prophetic of usefulness and happiness, hence the army of martyrs among our married and unmarried women who, not having cultivated a taste for science, art or literature, form a corps of nervous patients who make fortunes for agreeable physicians ...”
—Sarah M. Grimke (1792–1873)