Most Unique Player Nickname (O/T)

[mintacular]

Just received a "Little Poison" Waner card, that's my vote. I would be interested to hear some others, especially pre-war ones.

[Anthony S.]

"Lady" Baldwin springs to mind.

"Phenomenal" Smith was a pretty cool one, too.

[Kawika]

Archive Vaughan

[Brian Van Horn]

"Wahoo" Sam Crawford after his hometown.

[3-2-count]

Player from the past - “The Splendid Splinter” (Ted Williams)
Player from today - "The Big Unit" (Randy Johnson)

[Brian Van Horn]

Sammy "Babe Ruth's Legs" Byrd

[brickyardkennedy]

William Edward Conroy.

"Conroy picked up the nickname "Widow" for his solicitous concern for younger boys on his sandlot team and was known as "Wid" all his long life in organized baseball."

I know it's post-war, but I admit to a certain fondness for Walt "No-Neck" Williams. : ^ )

[jrhatchjr]

.

[Irwin Fletcher]

"Rusty" Kuntz.

His given name was Russell. I probably would have stuck with Russell.

[prewarsports]

Never heard of this guy before a few days ago but the name is one of the best I have ever seen, especially for 1924! I think all the rappers of today owe his family a few bucks for coining their names!

"Lil" Stoner.

[Abravefan11]

Biscuit Pants

[mintacular]

some interesting posts so far. If you know HOW the nickname was earned that would also be appreciated. For example, how did little poison gain that nickname? (I know his older brother was "big poison" but where did the poison concept originate?)

[judsonhamlin]

Wasn't there an outfielder in the 1880's nicknamed "Death to Flying Things"?

[pitchernut]

lately I've been partial too Frank "Noodles" Hahn, no card so no pic Don't know how he got the name.... here we go "Frank George Hahn was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 29, 1879. He acquired his distinctive nickname as a youngster, though he claimed he didn't know why. "All I know is they always called me 'Noodles,'" Hahn said. But a friend claimed to recall the origin quite well. "When Hahn was a boy in Nashville," the man explained, "he always had to carry his father's lunch to him. His father worked in a piano factory, and the lunch was always noodle soup, so the nickname was a natural." There are at least three other variations on the story, however; in one he earned the nickname because he sold his mother's homemade noodle soup, in a second he was simply fond of the soup, and in a third, his brothers gave him the nickname for carrying noodle soup for his grandmother to a poor neighbor."

[barrysloate]

There was Judd, and I think it was the nickname of Robert Ferguson. Can anyone confirm this?

[Rich Klein]

who ended up being nicknamed Death to Flying Things.

True story about Rusty Kuntz; I was working at Mike Gordon's store when someone came in asking for Rusty Kuntz cards. Thinking THAT had to be a joke; I made a lot of fun at the whole situation until the guy pulled out a business card and he was,....

HIS BROTHER

I never turned so red in my life; and from that point on, I always asked more than just being a smart-aleck

Rich

[rhettyeakley]

Judson, you are correct, and that is my favorite all time nickname...

Robert V. "Death to flying things" Ferguson

-Rhett

[Rich Klein]

Some modern names of greatness include:

Shooty Babbitt

Razor Shines

Dick Pole (Not a nickname but a great name)

in Football we had

Happy Feller

Fair Hooker

And the list just keeps on growing!

[Jim VB]

Rich,

Do not forget NASCAR driver Dick Trickle!

[wolfdogg]

Always thought "Soupy" Campbell was pretty cool...............and "Deerfoot" Milan

[yawie99]

I've always liked Arlie Latham's "The Freshest Man on Earth." And Johnny Leonard Roosevelt Martin must've been the Method Man of the Gashouse Gang: "Pepper" and - perhaps my all-time favorite nickname in Sport - "The Wild Horse of the Osage."

[KNH]

Frank "Wildfire" Schulte - Cubs
Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch - Rams
Bill "Spaceman" Lee - Expos
Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell - Celtics

[Rich Klein]

Nicknames were not as PC back in these good old days:

Look at all the Heinie's running around

Examples are

Heinie Manush
Heinie Meine

And for the weight conscious amongst us:

Fatty Fothergill

And of course

Slim Sallee

Babe Ruth has his own coterie of nicknames;

Sultan of Swat; Bambino, etc

Lou Gehrig:

The Iron Horse; Buster

And a couple good modern ones that told about the players

"Dirty" Al Gallagher; who wanted to spell out Alan Mitchell Edward George Patrick Henry Gallagher anyway

and

"Sudden" Sam McDowell

More as I think of them

[Peter_Spaeth]

Cool Papa Bell.
Highpockets Kelly.

[Brian Van Horn]

As I recall an earlier story, a newspaperman called the Waners big person and little person to differentiate between the two, but because of his accent it sounded like "Big Poison" and "Little Poison." The nicknames stuck.

[packs]

Donnie Baseball has to be one of the best nicknames to have as a ball player.

I always liked Frank Chance's "The Peerless Leader" and Johnny Evers "Crab"

But the all time best nickname is a tie between Johnny "Blue Moon" Odom and good old Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd.

[Brian Van Horn]

Harry "Giant Killer" Coveleskie
Pete "The Gladiator" Browning-not a flattering nickname since it was based on his fielding skills
Tony "Poosh Em Up" Lazzeri
"Moonlight" Graham
Johnny "Double No Hit" Vander Meer
Honus "The Flying Dutchman" Wagner
Butts Wagner
Walter "The Big Train" Johnson
Pepper "Wild Horse of the Osage" Martin
Harry "The Horse" Danning

[HRBAKER]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

Some modern names of greatness include:

Shooty Babbitt

Razor Shines

Dick Pole (Not a nickname but a great name)

in Football we had

Happy Feller

Fair Hooker

And the list just keeps on growing!

More football - Buzz Nutter and Dick Shiner

[sox1903wschamp]

Since were O/T, my 2 favorite nicknames are from Hockey and being a Bruins fan for life with a Dad that had season tics for 20 years from 55 to 75, many a time in our household growing up, I heard these nicknames uttered:

Johnny "Pie Face" McKenzie: My alltime fav and although small in stature, he would go through a wall to score a goal and a had a big heart.

Don "Mary" McKenney: The antithesis of Pie Face. Great talent, good player but was not a fan of the rough play or mixing it up in the corners. Hence the nickname "Mary".

[sox1903wschamp]

And I will throw one Baseball nickname in:

Dick "Dr. Strangeglove" Stuart. Who once received a standing O in the sixties at Fenway for fielding a hotdog wrapper cleanly

[carrigansghost]

Like Michael Jackson, he wore a glove for no apparent reason.

[rfurnish]

The Baseball Encyclopedia is full of great old nicknames. How about Harvey "Gink" Hendrick. Gink means "odd little boy".

As an inside joke, I will sometimes refer to my girlfriend as a "gink". She has made me promise that I would never refer to her as a gink in public.



Do message boards count?

[howard38]

"The Apollo of the Box"

[teetwoohsix]

Don't forget Dummy Taylor.............

[abrahamrudy]

Originally Posted by Irwin Fletcher

"Rusty" Kuntz.

His given name was Russell. I probably would have stuck with Russell.

I was flipping through 86 Topps the other day and I came across his card and I just burst out laughing... He had no business with that nickname, and Topps had some nerve printing it on a card!

[tedzan]

Here's some feminine nicknames......for starters

William "Kitty" Bransfield
Nelson "Nellie" Briles
William "Widow" Conroy
Patrick "Patsy" Dougherty
George "Peaches" Graham
"Vivian" Lindaman
Sherwood "Sherry" Magee
John "Sadie" McMahon
Monroe "Dolly" Stark

Some other cool nicknames

Clyde "Pea Ridge" Day
Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell
Samuel "Skyrocket" Smith (1888)
Thomas "Sleeper" Sullivan (1880's)
George "Birdie" Tebbetts
Herman "Coaker" Triplett

But, in my book, here is the coolest name ever in BaseBall

Van Lingle Mungo




TED Z

[SmokyBurgess]

19th century player Arlie "The Freshest Man on Earth" Latham. Behavior so bad on the field, the coach's box came into being...or so goes the story.

[Irwin Fletcher]

Danny MacFayden - "Deacon Danny"

Dave Harris - "Sheriff" (Apparently, Harris was a sheriff in his hometown during the offseason).

[bigtrain]

As a kid, I played with an old Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones model glove.

[Orioles1954]

Win: Sam "The Goshen Schoolmaster" Leever

Place: Johnny "Ugly" Dickshot

Show: Hank "Bow Wow" Arft

Honorable Mention: Grady "Butcher Boy" Adkins

My Nickname at Huggins & Scott: James "The Mormon Mallet" Feagin ---sometimes just "Mallet"

[BleedinBlue]

From the 1941 Goudey set...

Hugh "Losing Pitcher" Mulcahy

The Dodgers had a minor leaguer pitcher named Given Kutz. I always hoped he would make it but unfortunately his named foreshadowed his ability.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Ding-A-Ling Clay
Pretzels Pezzulo
Hurricane Hazle
Sweetbreads Bailey
Hub "The Gallatin Squash" Purdue
Hillbilly Bildilli

[Bill Stone]

T210 Series 6 fans will remember John McIlvain nicknamed " the Human Slat" of Frankfort.

[jrog007]

I like the nickname George "Piano Legs" Gore.

[PGACPA]

I can think of a bunch:

Wilt Chamberlain - Wilt the Stilt, The Big Dipper, and Chairman of the Boards

Ervin - Magic Johnson

Ty Cobb - The Georgia Peach

Steve Garvey - Mr. Clean

Hank Aaron - Hammerin Hank

Willy Mays -The Say Hey Kid

Grover Cleveland Alexander - Old Pete

Frank - Homerun Baker

-Cool Papa Bell

Mordecai - Three Finger Brown

Roy Campanella - Campy

Stan Musial - Stan The Man

Johnny Bench - Little General

Reggie Jackson - Mr. October

-Wahoo Sam Crawford

Jack Chesbro - Happy Jack

Charles Comiskey - The Old Roman

-Rabit Maranville

Carlton Fisk - Pudge

Bob - Hoot Gibson

-Catfish Hunter

-Walter Johnson - The Big Train

-Rube Marquard

Joe - Iron Man McGinnity

George - Highpockets Kelly

Does Ten Million count?

[Bosox Blair]

Mike "The Human Rain Delay" Hargrove.

Cheers,
Blair

[Anthony S.]

Originally Posted by Bosox Blair

Mike "The Human Rain Delay" Hargrove.
Cheers,
Blair

You might want to skip to the 1:53 mark of this video to catch his Hargrove impression. It's pretty dead on...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU3eV_FTS7w

[mybuddyinc]

Being known as somewhat laid-back person, my fav is:

"Ice-Box" Chamberlain

also .....

Georgetown's old guard "Sleepy" Floyd (who actually got the name from his slow play at 2nd base).

.... and I forget the name of th SF 3rd baseman who was called "Tin Man" for his steel heart approach to life.



(((and for those pshychotic baseball fans: Terry "The Terror" Larkin)))

[packs]

Always liked the basketball player World B. Free's name too.

[uffda51]

Ping Bodie, born Francesco Stephano Pezzolo.