Ted was considered the toughest of the Nesser brothers. In 1906, he reputedly ended the career of Willie Heston, a former Michigan All-American, with a hard tackle in a Massillon Tigers-Canton Bulldogs game. In 1908, Ted reputedly stayed for a game with two broken bones protruding from an arm, just because he thought that his brothers needed him. Nesser was also reported to have had broken his nose at least eight times. Ted's son Charlie also played briefly for the Panhandles in 1921. This is marked as the only father-son combination to play together in NFL history.