Greatest sports nicknames

[Oeditpus Rex]

Hughie "Eee-Yah" Jennings.







(REAL nicks, not that shit that's made up by sportswriters or Chris Berman, like "Will the Thrill.") :eyes:

[enigmatic]

1. "Sudden" Sam McDowell

[KitchenWitch]

2. James Timothy "Mudcat" Grant

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/raymondautocollection/Grant,%20Mudcat.jpg

[Oeditpus Rex]

4. I ever tell you I have his autograph?

Personalized, even. :D

[KitchenWitch]

6. Color me green

with envy!

On edit:

My son has a baseball signed by the AL umpires from the 1965 World Series

[Oeditpus Rex]

9. I never met him

A coupla friends of mine went to the winter meetings around 1987. They met him there and got it for me.


Let's see who the umps were in the '65 Series — Ed Hurley, Tony Venzon, John Flaherty, Ed Sudol.

They didn't use foul-line umps then? :shrug:

[KitchenWitch]

10. Sounds right

The ball is in Minnesota, so I cannot check it.

[Oeditpus Rex]

11. I was thinking Bill Haller worked that Series

Remember him? He was Tom Haller's brother, the old Giants catcher and later their GM.

I met Tom Haller at a banquet once, the year before he was named GM. He didn't seem real thrilled to be there.

[enigmatic]

7. I loooove Mudcat

He did the color on the Indians TV broadcasts for years, he even did color for our local Pro Softball team tv broadcasts at the same time, too. He was a sweetheart..

[KitchenWitch]

8. He really is a gem of a human being.

:D

[enigmatic]

3. "Stunning" Steve Dunning

Man, being a Cleveland Indians fan in the 70's was depressing..

[enigmatic]

5. From the CFL

Henry "Gizmo" Williams:



http://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=halloffame&func=display&hid=231

[taterguy]

12. Cornbread Maxwell

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

13. Mark "Bird" Fidrych

What's a "real" nickname vs a "made-up" nickname?

:hi:

[HERVEPA]

14. Dennis "oil=can" Bird

[SoxFan]

25. OIl Can BOYD

Show some respect for a great man!

The Can was once asked for comment when thick fog rolled in on Cleveland's old Municipal Stadium during a Sox-Tribe game:

"That's what you get for building a park on the ocean".

The Can shows up at indy league games around New England during the summer, and he is a popular draw. Anyone who grew up in the 1980s loved this guy.

[HERVEPA]

39. Damn, I knew it didn't sound quite right! Thanks

[Enrique]

15. Sweetness

[BeachBaby]

16. "The Minister of Defense" - ReggieWhite. R.I.P. n/t.

[HERVEPA]

42. How about Gary Maddox "The Secretary of Defense" and no R.I.P.

from me for Reggie, "homophobic and hateful" White

[BeachBaby]

46. I actually met Gary Maddox at a funeral, of all places....

I went to a Christian school growing up. In 1981, a woman from our church/school had died. Her husband was the Phillies prayer leader/chaplain. So our church/school was filled with Phillies on the day of her funeral, because they showed up to support their chaplain in his time of grief. I'll never forget that - it was quite the sight, especially since they were the World Series champs!

As for Reggie....to be honest, I only knew him as a football player. He was part of our Eagles defense line - and we called the group of them "Gang Green". He was ruthless on the field.

I can assure you.....while I don't question that he was a "homophobe", it's a safe bet that most professional sports are chock-full with homophobes. Seriously. Lots of racists in sports as well. The only difference here is that Reggie actually said it out loud.

I was responding to the OP. Cool sports nicknames. If the OP asked for "best role model in sports" I never would have mentioned Reggie - for a multitude of reasons. I can now add the "homophobe" issue to the list.

[HERVEPA]

43. How about Gary Maddox "The Secretary of Defense" and no R.I.P.

from me for Reggie, "homophobic and hateful" White

[abq e streeter]

17. Jack "Tomato Face" Lamabe...Coot Veal...Dick "Dr. Strangeglove" Stuart...

Footsie Belardi, Pumpsie Green, Dizzy Dean, Boom Boom Geoffreon , Lou " The Nervous Greek" Skizas, Moonman Shannon, Walt " No Neck" Williams, and the great Bill "Spaceman" Lee

[Arkham House]

18. "Death to Flying Things"...

...a 19th century ballplayer, whose name is coming up blank right now...but that's a cool one...so is Arlie latham's "The Freshest Man on Earth"...for more modern times--I rather like "The Mad Stork", Ted hendrix' nickname...

[Jamastiene]

19. Any male athlete with the name

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x7677732">"PeeWee"

[Blue_Tires]

22. Any male athlete with the name

"sleepy"

[MissHoneychurch]

20. Tante Käthe

= Rudi Völler (Tante = aunt)

Don't ask me why though.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudi_V%C3%B6ller

[Jokerman]

21. Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh

Formerly known as "Meat".

[SoxFan]

26. Currently known as "Papelbon"

[Mad_Dem_X]

36. "Crash" Davis

Don't know his real first name, tho'. :)

[qwertyMike]

23. Cement-Head

Hockey player Dave Semenko - Goon, enforcer and protector of Wayne Gretzky

[KamaAina]

47. Craig "Ironhead" Heyward

Falcons and Saints FB, back when fullbacks actually (gasp!) carried the football from time to time.

[auburngrad82]

24. Glen "Fireball" Roberts

http://www.fireballroberts.com/

One of the first superstars of stock car racing. He died, ironically, as a result of burns sustained when he wrecked and his car burst into flames...

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

27. don "stan the man unusual" stanhouse

[Va Lefty]

28. Here are a few...

"Shoeless" Joe Jackson-White Sox OF
John "Blue Moon" Odom-A's P
Dick "Night Train" Lane-Lions DB
John "The Beast" Mugabi-Boxer
"He Hate Me"-Some WR in now defunct XFL

[Sheets of Easter]

52. LOL- "He Hate Me."

That would be Rod Smart.

So the story goes, he wanted "They Hate Me" on his jersey, but it wouldn't fit. :D

[NewJeffCT]

29. Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch; Billy "White Shoes" Johnson

from football.

[NewJeffCT]

30. Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd

of Red Sox fame

[NewJeffCT]

31. Bill "Spaceman" Lee; Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown

Not sure they'd nickname somebody "Three Fingers" these days, though.

[NewJeffCT]

32. Dizzy Dean; Joe DiMaggio, the Yankee Clipper; plus

Ted Williams, the Splendid Splinter and
Jim "Catfish" Hunter

[Auggie]

33. Joe "Ducky" Medwick

St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Dodgers, N.Y. Giants and Boston Braves -- 1932-1948.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Medwick

[quip]

34. The Great One.

[quip]

35. Puck.

[Reverend_Smitty]

37. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson

[Awsi Dooger]

38. The Galloping Ghost

Red Grange

Someone mentioned my favorite nickname among athletes on the teams I've followed since childhood -- The Mad Stork, aka Ted Hendricks. That nickname was courtesy of a Miami Herald sportswriter named Luther Evans, who covered the Canes football team and later switched to horse racing writer. My late Sunday nights as a teenager were spent listening to Luther Evans on his sports radio program, a mellow non confrontational style.

[HERVEPA]

40. Reggie "Double Cheeseburger" Cleveland. --- Harvey "The Kitten" Haddix

Sal "The Barber" Maglie

[sasquatch]

58. Dick "Night Train" Lane RIP

[HERVEPA]

41. And, of course, "The Splendid Splinter"

[quip]

44. "The Natural" Roy Hobbs

[quip]

45. Oh, and since he was just in the news (released by the Jays) "The Big Hurt"

[Gidney N Cloyd]

48. Here's some Cubbies for ya:

(shorttimers and longtimers)

Rick “Red Baron” Sutcliffe
Leo "The Lip" Durocher
"Sweet Swingin'" Billy Williams
Don "Popeye" Zimmer
Ron "Pizza Power" Santo
Greg "Mad Dog" Maddox
Andre "Hawk" Dawson
Ron "The Penguin" Cey

Last few years the nicknames have been pretty lame.

[abq e streeter]

57. and the secretary of defense, Don Kessinger

[Bombero1956]

49. Lefty Grove

Big Papi,Babe Ruth- the Sultan of Swat, The Bambino, the King of Sting and Hammerin’ Hank Greenberg.

[rurallib]

50. The Duke of Flatbush

I was in my twenties when I found out that "Duke" Snyder was a nickname and not his real name. Edwin I believe is his real name.
Kenny "no neck" Williams - so descriptive.
Pepper Martin - the wild horse of the Osage.
Walter "Big Train" Johnson
Cy(clone) Young for Denton True Young

[Sheets of Easter]

51. The Bus

[KitchenWitch]

53. William "The Refrigerator" Perry

[Reverend_Smitty]

54. Another favorite, Clarence "Choo-Choo" Coleman

[devilgrrl]

55. From the NHL: Emile "The Cat" Francis, Maurice "Rocket" Richard

[hellbound-liberal]

56. How about this guy, best "mound groomer" in baseball!

Mark "the Bird" Fidrych

[sasquatch]

59. I almost forgot; Jack "The Assassin" Tatum

[abq e streeter]

60. Suitcase Simpson, Twinkletoes Selkirk, Cuddles Marshall

[meow2u3]

61. Al "The Mad Hungarian" Hrabosky

edit: forgot to put end quote

[SKKY]

62. Phi Slama Jama..

...that Houston team was pretty stacked, huh?