Hammerojustice
Chief Caveman, Keeper of Thor's Hammer
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This got me thinking...
http://www.sportsonearth.com/articl...es-illustrated?partnerId=ed-8003522-658620023
So what other great nicknames were out there?
Not on the list of the link above: The Iron Horse, The Babe/The Bambino/The Sultan of Swat, Joltin' Joe/The Yankee Clipper, The Say Hey Kid, The Kid/Junior (before Dale Earnhardt Jr.), Shoeless Joe, The Mick/The Commerce Comet, The Man/Stan The Man, The Splinter, etc.
So, in addition to the names I missed... why were some given the names?
The Iron Horse: Henry Louis "Lou" or "Buster" Gehrig
His durability and playing in 2130 straight games
The Babe: George Herman "Babe" Ruth, Jr.
According to Wikipedia, in his rookie season, he was the "subject of various pranks by the veterans, who also most likely gave him his famous nickname. There are various accounts of how Ruth came to be called Babe, but most center around him being referred to as "Dunnie's babe" or a variant. "Babe" was at that time a common nickname in baseball, with perhaps the most famous to that point being Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher and 1909 World Series hero Babe Adams, who appeared younger than he was."
Anyone know why he got the nicknames "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat"? I could imagine the Sultan of Swat was largely due to his power hitting...
Joltin' Joe/The Yankee Clipper: Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio born as Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio
I know the Yankee Clipper was because in 1939, Yankee's stadium announcer Arch McDonald, called him this because he likened DiMaggio's speed and range in the outfield to the then-new Pan American airliner.
I don't know why he was called Joltin' Joe though... any insights?
Say Hey Kid: Willie Howard Mays, Jr.
According to Wikipedia, "It is not clear how Mays became known as the "Say Hey Kid." One story is that in 1951, Barney Kremenko, a writer for the New York Journal, proceeded to refer to Mays as the 'Say Hey Kid' after he overheard Mays say, "'Say who,' 'Say what,' 'Say where,' 'Say hey,'". Another story is that Jimmy Cannon created the nickname because Mays didn't know everybody's names when he first arrived in the minors. "You see a guy, you say, 'Hey, man. Say hey, man,' " Mays said. "Ted [Williams] was the 'Splinter'. Joe [DiMaggio] was 'Joltin' Joe'. Stan [Musial] was 'The Man'. I guess I hit a few home runs, and they said 'There goes the 'Say Hey Kid.""
The Kid/Junior: George Kenneth "Ken" Griffey, Jr.
I would assume both of these were due to how young he looked when he came up and that he was playing with his father so they called him Junior...
Shoeless Joe: Joseph Jefferson Jackson
According to Wikipedia, "According to Jackson, he got his nickname during a mill game played in Greenville, South Carolina. Jackson suffered from blisters on his foot from a new pair of cleats, and they hurt so much that he had to take his shoes off before an at bat. As play continued, a heckling fan noticed Jackson running to third base in his socks, and shouted "You shoeless son of a gun, you!" and the resulting nickname "Shoeless Joe" stuck with him throughout the remainder of his life."
The Mick/The Commerce Comet: Mickey Charles Mantle
The Mick is obviously short for Mickey (named by his father after HOF catcher Mickey Cochrane)
The Commerce Comet - I have no clue on this one...
The Man/Stan The Man: Stanley Frank "Stan" Musial born as Stanisław Franciszek Musiał
According to Wikipedia, "...during the 1946 season that Musial acquired his nickname of "The Man". During the June 23 game against the Dodgers at Ebbets Field, St. Louis Post-Dispatch sportswriter Bob Broeg heard Dodger fans chanting whenever Musial came to bat, but could not understand the words. Later that day over dinner, Broeg asked Cardinals traveling secretary Leo Ward if he had understood what the Dodger fans had been chanting. Ward said, "Every time Stan came up they chanted, 'Here comes the man!'" "'That man,' you mean", Broeg said. "No, the man", replied Ward. Broeg mentioned this story in his Post-Dispatch column, and Musial was thereafter known as Stan "The Man""
The Kid/The Splendid Splinter/Teddy Ballgame/The Thumper/The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived: Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams
The Kid - According to Wikipedia, "during spring training Williams was nicknamed "The Kid" by Red Sox equipment manager Johnny Orlando, who after Williams arrived to Sarasota for the first time, said, "'The Kid' has arrived". Orlando still called Williams "The Kid" twenty years later, while the nickname stuck with Williams the rest of his life."
The Splendid Splinter - I have no clue
Teddy Ballgame - I have no clue
The Thumper - I have no clue
The Greatest Hitter That Ever Lived - I would assume that this was due to his stated goal that he wanted people to point and say "there goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived."
Anyone else I'm missing?
http://www.sportsonearth.com/articl...es-illustrated?partnerId=ed-8003522-658620023
So what other great nicknames were out there?
Not on the list of the link above: The Iron Horse, The Babe/The Bambino/The Sultan of Swat, Joltin' Joe/The Yankee Clipper, The Say Hey Kid, The Kid/Junior (before Dale Earnhardt Jr.), Shoeless Joe, The Mick/The Commerce Comet, The Man/Stan The Man, The Splinter, etc.
So, in addition to the names I missed... why were some given the names?
The Iron Horse: Henry Louis "Lou" or "Buster" Gehrig
His durability and playing in 2130 straight games
The Babe: George Herman "Babe" Ruth, Jr.
According to Wikipedia, in his rookie season, he was the "subject of various pranks by the veterans, who also most likely gave him his famous nickname. There are various accounts of how Ruth came to be called Babe, but most center around him being referred to as "Dunnie's babe" or a variant. "Babe" was at that time a common nickname in baseball, with perhaps the most famous to that point being Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher and 1909 World Series hero Babe Adams, who appeared younger than he was."
Anyone know why he got the nicknames "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat"? I could imagine the Sultan of Swat was largely due to his power hitting...
Joltin' Joe/The Yankee Clipper: Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio born as Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio
I know the Yankee Clipper was because in 1939, Yankee's stadium announcer Arch McDonald, called him this because he likened DiMaggio's speed and range in the outfield to the then-new Pan American airliner.
I don't know why he was called Joltin' Joe though... any insights?
Say Hey Kid: Willie Howard Mays, Jr.
According to Wikipedia, "It is not clear how Mays became known as the "Say Hey Kid." One story is that in 1951, Barney Kremenko, a writer for the New York Journal, proceeded to refer to Mays as the 'Say Hey Kid' after he overheard Mays say, "'Say who,' 'Say what,' 'Say where,' 'Say hey,'". Another story is that Jimmy Cannon created the nickname because Mays didn't know everybody's names when he first arrived in the minors. "You see a guy, you say, 'Hey, man. Say hey, man,' " Mays said. "Ted [Williams] was the 'Splinter'. Joe [DiMaggio] was 'Joltin' Joe'. Stan [Musial] was 'The Man'. I guess I hit a few home runs, and they said 'There goes the 'Say Hey Kid.""
The Kid/Junior: George Kenneth "Ken" Griffey, Jr.
I would assume both of these were due to how young he looked when he came up and that he was playing with his father so they called him Junior...
Shoeless Joe: Joseph Jefferson Jackson
According to Wikipedia, "According to Jackson, he got his nickname during a mill game played in Greenville, South Carolina. Jackson suffered from blisters on his foot from a new pair of cleats, and they hurt so much that he had to take his shoes off before an at bat. As play continued, a heckling fan noticed Jackson running to third base in his socks, and shouted "You shoeless son of a gun, you!" and the resulting nickname "Shoeless Joe" stuck with him throughout the remainder of his life."
The Mick/The Commerce Comet: Mickey Charles Mantle
The Mick is obviously short for Mickey (named by his father after HOF catcher Mickey Cochrane)
The Commerce Comet - I have no clue on this one...
The Man/Stan The Man: Stanley Frank "Stan" Musial born as Stanisław Franciszek Musiał
According to Wikipedia, "...during the 1946 season that Musial acquired his nickname of "The Man". During the June 23 game against the Dodgers at Ebbets Field, St. Louis Post-Dispatch sportswriter Bob Broeg heard Dodger fans chanting whenever Musial came to bat, but could not understand the words. Later that day over dinner, Broeg asked Cardinals traveling secretary Leo Ward if he had understood what the Dodger fans had been chanting. Ward said, "Every time Stan came up they chanted, 'Here comes the man!'" "'That man,' you mean", Broeg said. "No, the man", replied Ward. Broeg mentioned this story in his Post-Dispatch column, and Musial was thereafter known as Stan "The Man""
The Kid/The Splendid Splinter/Teddy Ballgame/The Thumper/The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived: Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams
The Kid - According to Wikipedia, "during spring training Williams was nicknamed "The Kid" by Red Sox equipment manager Johnny Orlando, who after Williams arrived to Sarasota for the first time, said, "'The Kid' has arrived". Orlando still called Williams "The Kid" twenty years later, while the nickname stuck with Williams the rest of his life."
The Splendid Splinter - I have no clue
Teddy Ballgame - I have no clue
The Thumper - I have no clue
The Greatest Hitter That Ever Lived - I would assume that this was due to his stated goal that he wanted people to point and say "there goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived."
Anyone else I'm missing?
