Affectionately known as "Mr. New Year's Day," Nelson subsequently did the play-by-play of the Cotton Bowl Classic for 26 seasons on CBS television, where he earned widespread recognition for his Tennessee drawl and signature opening greeting: ""Happy New Year; this is Lindsey Nelson in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas."" He also called many Army–Navy Games for CBS, including the 1963 contest in which instant replay was first introduced. (After the initial replay, it fell to Nelson to reassure viewers that Army had not scored again.) For 14 years Nelson was the syndicated television voice of Notre Dame football, and he also called the Mutual Broadcasting System's Monday night radio broadcasts of NFL games from 1974 to 1977, in addition to NFL games for CBS television for many years.