“Rube”

[frankbmd]

The list of Major Leaguers named Rube isn’t very long. There are half a dozen or more:

Rube Marquand
Rube Waddell
Rube Kroh
Rube Kisinger
Rube Foster
Rube Bressler
Rube Walker

None of the above had the given name of Ruben, more common in recent decades.

None had a given name that is even remotely related to the rube configuration of those four letters.

I’m not sure, but I don’t think any of the above was named after a sandwich either, the Reuben.

rube is synonymous with hick.

Both are considered insults, connoting both a lack of intelligence and sophistication, in other words “a country bumpkin”.

Rube Walker is the only one on the llst who is not prewar and he played his last game in 1958. So for 61 years there has not been a true “rube” in the major leagues. Are they extinct?

If you have a son who plays baseball reasonably well and you call him Rube, he has a 29% chance of ending up in the Hall of Fame.

Nicknames are not always complimentary (I was once known as “Charcoal” Birckett), but is there another defamatory nickname that has led to a higher rate of success?

I can’t think of one.

Long live “Rube”

[HexsHeroes]

...
And there was also “Rube” Kissinger, whom played a short stint with the Detroit Tigers too.

Cannot disagree that “rube” may have been one of the most common nicknames used. “Nig” also used occasionally but does not appear as common.

[vintagetoppsguy]

How common was Lefty?

[clydepepper]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

How common was Lefty?

Certainly a lot more common than 'Righty'.

A conspiracy for sure!


.

[jerrys]

Rube Dessau (Frank)
Rube Geyer (Jacob)
Rube Manning (Walter)
Rube Oldring (Reuben)
These Rubes are on bb cards.

George Edward "Rube" Waddell appeared on his early W600 cabinets when he was a member of the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1908 as a member of the St. Louis Browns his W600 pictured him in uniform and without the nickname "Rube" insert in his name. According to teammate Jesse Tannehill, he disliked that nickname and preferred to be called Eddie.

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by jerrys

Rube Dessau (Frank)
Rube Geyer (Jacob)
Rube Manning (Walter)
Rube Oldring (Reuben)
These Rubes are on bb cards.

George Edward "Rube" Waddell appeared on his early W600 cabinets when he was a member of the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1908 as a member of the St. Louis Browns his W600 pictured him in uniform and without the nickname "Rube" insert in his name. According to teammate Jesse Tannehill, he disliked that nickname and preferred to be called Eddie.

Baseball-Reference searches have failed me again missing more Rubes than you can shake a stick at. They are not recommended henceforth as the basis for threads of this nature particularly if you post before thinking. I am well aware of all the Rubes listed here.

I think the additional Rubes reinforce my point though. Has there been a Rube, not named Ruben or Reuben, since Dixie Walker though?

[trdcrdkid]

There’s another Rube in the HOF: Rube Foster, the Negro League pioneer. I assume the Rube Foster on your list is the one who played for the Red Sox from 1913 to 1917, since you said Major Leaguers.

Baseball-reference.com shows 29 MLB players named Rube, 21 of whom played between 1900 and 1920. I guess that must have been a common nickname in that era for players from the sticks, of whom there were increasingly many in the early 20th century.