[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

That's a very solid theory due to what you mention.

Lonny was a very happy-spirited guy. He only ever broke from this on two brief occasions. The record books all list his nickname as "Junior". While he was humble, he wasn't falsely modest and knew his worth on a ballfield. When asked about the nickname, he denied it was his and wouldn't own it: "I was NEVER a 'junior'!".

The other instance where he was a little annoyed was when he started telling me about how fellow St. Louis native Buddy Blattner didn't belong on a Major League field, and only got there because his father had some sort of local significance and influence over his son's fate. It's rather surprising, then, that Blattner played as long as he did.