INDIANAPOLIS -- Reluctantly, Nelson Hart left the madness behind at 92 years old. He died in May 2019, months after making his final NCAA tournament bracket selections. He died a lover of family and basketball predictions, though no one can say for sure which trumped which.

Either way, Nelson loved basketball just as much as he loved family. A longtime Beech Grove resident, he was so into picking winners of games, he would chew on a wooden yardstick to relieve his stress, leaving splinters on the floor of his home, much to the chagrin of his wife, Jo Ann.

High school or college predictions, it didn't matter. Through the years, Nelson was there for both.

When the winter snow started to melt and high school tournaments played out in the 1950s, Nelson would enter the newspaper's prediction contest using a self-concocted catalog system, similar to the library card files of the day. He made notes throughout the season on each card and kept stats of every team in the state to help him pick who would make it to the state finals.

Decades later in the 1970s and 1980s, when his beloved Indiana University started winning college basketball titles and March Madness bracket competitions first sprouted up, Nelson latched onto the hysteria.

And, unbeknownst to him, he started a family tradition that has lasted more than 40 years, a tradition that likely won't end anytime soon.

After all, Nelson left behind very strict rules on the Hart family NCAA tournament competition and there is no one with the same last name as him who dares to divert from them.

"My grandpa, anything that he ever did, he did it all the way," said Joel Hart, grandson of Nelson. "He did it big and he did it right or he didn't do it at all."

Which leads to the plaque. The incredible, massive, traveling wooden plaque.

Should this plaque get away from the recognized family, I may very well rise from the grave to retrieve it. -- Nelson S. Hart, 1989

'Our family was so crazy about the NCAA tourney'

Before the plaque came into Nelson's living room, there were only bragging rights. Words, taunts and boasting.

Jo Ann Hart was there from the beginning. She started filling out brackets at her husband's suggestion in 1981, using an ink pen on paper. That was the year of the Hart family's inaugural March Madness participation, which included Nelson, Jo Ann, their four sons and one daughter-in-law.

"It was a great idea because our family was so crazy about the NCAA tourney at that time," said Michael Hart, Nelson's son. "We were all into IU basketball. We were really dialed into Larry Bird and Indiana State in 1979. We were really into it and still are today."

But no one knew in the beginning just how into it the family would be, just how long lasting the tradition would be.

Jo Ann, in her 43rd year of bracketing and 89 years old, says she has always had one method and she still uses it today. "It was a red and white school," she said. "Every year, I just put IU in as the winner."

In the years IU doesn't make the tournament, Jo Ann gravitates to the Christian schools and elevates them to the finals. She has won the family bracket two or three times, Jo Ann said from her Beech Grove home this week. "Let's go with three."

The beauty of the Hart family victories is there doesn't have to be any guessing. Nelson made sure of that.

It was 1989 when Nelson decided he'd had enough with the bragging rights and took his family's madness to another level. Nelson decided to record and preserve the Hart family NCAA tournament prediction winners for future generations.

He created a plaque. Inscribed at the top were the words "NCAA Basketball Hall of Fame," as in Hart Hall of Fame.

Today, the name of every family winner since 1981 is etched on that plaque, which travels to the victor's home to be displayed proudly. That plaque is one of the most cherished possessions of the Hart family.

Nelson may be gone, but he is certainly not forgotten. The Hart family tradition -- now more than 30 family members strong -- is about to kick off again Thursday.

But first, there are the rules.

Family madness. Outsiders now allowed

Nelson spent most of his career as an accountant for a fencing company. He served on the Beech Grove school board and twice ran for mayor. He was a man of substance, a man who led by example and always wanted his family to know they came first.

When it came to basketball, Nelson held the same standards, and he did not mince words or ethics when it came to his family's March Madness bracket competition.

Laminated and plastered to the back of the Hart plaque, since its debut, were the rules Nelson crafted.

First there was the scoring method, which was simple and no frills. One point for each first round win (64), two for the second round (32), three for the third round (Sweet Sixteen), four points for the fourth round (Elite Eight), five for the fifth round (Final Four) and six for the championship game.

The family member who scores the highest overall points gets their name on the plaque, with the final game's score. If the winner also picks the tournament champion, a heart symbol follows their name. In the event of multiple tie scores, all names are listed on the plate.

Each year after the final game, the winner gets possession of the plaque to display prominently in their home, on one condition. It must be returned the following season of March Madness to its home base. For now, the home base remains at Nelson and Jo Ann's home in Beech Grove.

After that, "the home base should move down to the next generation (no skipping please)," Nelson wrote in the rules. "The home base should stay in the area of the highest density of the family. It is our hope this plaque remains within the family. Family members are recognized as Nelson and Jo Ann Hart, their sons and wives, and their sons, daughters and spouses, and their sons, daughters and spouses, etc. For the benefit of future generations, family ties will be taped to the back of each plate."

As Joel read the rules again this week, he was struck by how thoughtful his grandfather was to think of all of those details, but he wasn't surprised.

After all, his earliest memories are sitting at his kitchen table the day after the NCAA tournament teams were selected and hearing a knock at the door. There would be his grandfather with the bracket printouts for his family to fill in.

This was definitely a family thing for Nelson and one rule was very clear, said Joel. "You have to be in the family to participate."

'There will always be a winner'

Before she was a Hart, Orlena Hart was engaged to Joel. And, as a fiancé, she was not allowed to participate in the bracket. Joel remembers the discussion that Christmas when Nelson made it clear that to participate in the bracket, Orlena had to officially be a Hart.

"I was completely understanding," said Orlena. "I didn't want to have to put my name on the plaque as my maiden name."

No worries on her part. Orlena married Joel, had six children with him and, in 2022 won the Hart bracket. She got her name on the plaque and Joel gave her props.

"I have been invested in this for years. It's been a key goal in my life to win it," he said. "And she won it before I did."

Joel is the reigning 2023 champion. For the past year, he has displayed the plaque proudly in his living room. "Anyone sitting around the living room can see it," he said, "and I may conveniently bring it up."

The meaning of winning a place on the Hart plaque is difficult to explain to people outside the family, said Michael.

"For most of us in our family, given the choice of 500 bucks or having our name on the plaque," he said, "we pick the name."

That would most definitely make Nelson proud.

"Like many things in life, interest in this tournament and plaque will have its peaks and valleys," Nelson wrote in the rules on the back of the plaque. "As long as two or more participate, there will always be a winner."

Except for the year after Nelson died when the NCAA tournament was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving an empty space on the Hart plaque.

It was a perfect empty space that allowed the family to break Nelson's rules, just once. That space was inscribed with the words, "In loving memory of Nelson S. Hart."

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 'I may rise from the grave:' Beech Grove man lives on in March Madness