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From "The Ultimate
Book of Sports Lists" authored by Andrew Postman
and Larry Stone.
Most skilled athletes are christened with
a nickname early on, in recognition of their talents
or personality. Occasionally, an athlete of such rare
stature comes along that several nicknames attach themselves
to him or her; Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali rank at the
top of this select group. Besides "Babe,"
George Herman Ruth was known at times as "Bambino,"
"The Sultan of Swat," "The Caliph of
Clout," "The King of Clout," "Jidge,"
"Slambino," and "The Wizard of Whack,"
to name a very few. Not only do we also know Ali by
his former name, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., but as
"The Greatest," "The Louisville Lip,"
and "The Mouth," as well. Basketball legend
Jerry West was both "Mr. Clutch" and "Zeke
from Cabin Creek."
Some nicknames, by themselves, are great
- Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins, for
instance. Other nicknames have greatness thrust upon
them: The athlete is brilliant enough and so associated
with his or her nickname that it is hard to of one without
the other. For example, as nicknames go, "The Big
O' is just all right, but because it belongs to Oscar
Robertson, we remember it.
The following is a collection of the most
vividly remembered nicknames in sports. If you take
umbrage at the omission of certain obvious favorites,
you're invited to write your own book of sports lists.
The Georgia Peach - Ty Cobb
Broadway Joe - Joe Namath
The Galloping Ghost - Harold "Red" Grange
The Manassa Mauler - Jack Dempsey
The Rocket - Maurice Richard and Rod Laver
Dr. J - Julius Erving
The Big Train - Walter Johnson
Little Mo - Maureen Connolly
Sweetness - Walter Payton
The Answer - Allen Iverson
The Stilt - Wilt Chamberlain
The Man - Stan Musial
Casey - Charles Dillon Stengel
Too Tall - Ed Jones
Crazy Legs - Elroy Hirsch
Yogi - Lawrence Peter Berra
The Big Hurt - Frank Thomas
Shoe - Willie Shoemaker
Shoeless Joe - Joe Jackson
The Golden Jet - Bobby Hull
The Golden Bear - Jack Nicklaus
The Yankee Clipper - Joe DiMaggio
Charlie Hustle - Pete Rose
Pistol - Pete Maravich
Pee Wee - Harold Reese
Catfish - James Augustus Hunter
The Flying Finn - Paavo Nurmi
Say hey - Willie Mays
The Brown Bomber - Joe Louis
Magic - Earvin Johnson, Jr.
Editors Note: For those that wish to enter
more nicknames in a follow up article just contact Sports
Lore at the following e-mail address: webmaster@sportslore.com.
Please include your name and where from (example Tom
from New Jersey) along with the nickname and the athlete.
Some examples of nicknames could include "Wild
Thing'" "The Great One,' "Air,' and "Splendid
Splinter."
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