Frank Thayer Nelson (May 22, 1887 – July 16, 1970) was an American athlete and baseball player who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.

[1] Nelson competed for the United States in the 1912 Summer Olympics held in Stockholm, Sweden in the pole vault, where he won the silver medal.

He was a lifelong member of the Les Cheneaux Club on Marquette Island in northern Lake Huron.

Nelson's classmate, John Neil Patterson, DUS '06, was a member of the 1908 USA Olympic team as a high jumper (7th place) and a hurdler.

Nelson was a late replacement in the pole vault competition for Paul Maxon, another 1906 DUS graduate.