Nick Nolte has to be one of the most successful examples of an athlete turned actor. The former football pro began his career in the storied miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man, and after a series of varied character and supporting roles across genres, he won a Golden Globe and received his first nomination for Best Actor in 1991’s The Prince of Tides. That he lost in a minor upset to one of the greatest performances of all time has been obscured a bit by history.

Nolte flirted a second time with Oscar, and won numerous critics awards, seven years later in Paul Schrader’s adaptation of the Russell Banks novel Affliction (which also yielded a surprise Supporting Actor victory for co-star James Coburn). And folks, he definitely deserved to win for this. (He lost to Roberto Benigni in Life Is Beautiful, a win that doesn’t rankle me nearly as much as it does some others.)

A third and final Oscar nomination came in the Supporting Actor category in 2011 for the film Warrior. And…he’s fine in it. It’s a decent nomination, but not really win-worthy, and certainly not over Christopher Plummer.

But really, Nolte’s name should be the annals of Oscar winners. And it is a shame that it is not.

This article is part of a special year-long series of anecdotes, reflections and thoughts about the Academy Awards.