Player nicknames

Just read John Thorn's blog. I had never heard before how "Ice Box" Chamberlain got his nickname.

...ambidextrous pitcher Elton “Ice Box” Chamberlain, who won his nickname for the cool demeanor with which, while in the box, he caught flies (the insect variety) and ate them.

I always liked how "Iron Man" Joe McGinnity got his nickname. I used to think it was because he started (and won) both halves of a double-header.

McGinnity acquired his nickname, "Iron Man," before his doubleheader pitching became widely discussed. According to Lee Allen in The National League Story (1961), a reporter asked McGinnity, while he was still a minor league pitcher, what he did in between seasons. "I'm an iron man," he answered. "I work in a foundry."

... and there you have it. Even though it was apropos for his on-field performance, hall of famer, Joe McGinnity got his nickname from his job in the offseason.

Always appreciated the more obvious nicknames, one of my favorites has to be "Sour Mash" Jack Daniels. Not much debate on where he got that one.

One I've been curious about is Frank Hogan (played '25 to '37 for the Braves, Giants, and Senators). His nickname was "Shanty," and I've never been able to find out why. It's not even explained on his otherwise remarkably informative Wikipedia page. (He must have a relative and/or fan out there somewhere; I don't think I've ever seen so much Wiki detail for a player whose career was solid but hardly noteworthy.)

LucasRiley wrote:One I've been curious about is Frank Hogan (played '25 to '37 for the Braves, Giants, and Senators). His nickname was "Shanty," and I've never been able to find out why.

I found this on an ESPN page.

Hogan (6-1, 240 pounds) played for John McGraw, who never failed to get on him about his weight. Hogan couldn't lose the pounds, so he got creative: once, ordering pie a la mode at a restaurant, he asked that the bill read "asparagus" instead. One winter, Hogan ballooned to 278 pounds, and Senators owner Clark Griffith told him that he had to lose 50 before spring training. "Oh, the hard winter that mighty Hogan man put in!" said former New York Times sportswriter John Kieran. "Where he used to destroy loaves of bread and pans of hot biscuits and sides of beef and racks of lamb, he crunched a bit of dry toast, nibbled a leaf of lettuce, had half a cup of weak tea and called it – with tears in his eyes – a meal."

Hogan's nickname was inspired by his hut-like figure.

Then why didn't they nickname him Jabba?

My personal favorites:

• Earl of Snohomish (Averill)
  Duke of Tralee (Bresnahan)
  Heater from Van Meter (Feller)
  Chairman of the Board (W. Ford)
  Biscuit Pants (Gehrig; that might be the topper, right there)
  Catfish (Hunter; a particularly good one since it meant absolutely nothing and was just made up by the owner)
  Big Six (Mathewson)
  Little Napoleon (McGraw)
  The Knight of Kennett Square (Pennock)
  The Mahatma (Branch Rickey)

Of course, they go on and on in baseball, but those are the ones that stick with me.

How can you leave out Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson?

Didn't even know about that one! Had to look him up. Didn't have too shabby a career, I must say. And the nickname's a classic.

LucasRiley wrote:My personal favorites:

• Earl of Snohomish (Averill)

To compliment the "Earl of Snohomish" nickname was the monicker of the team he played for in the early 20's the "Snohomish Pilchuckers".... Here's a Granite Falls newspaper archive with Averills' line...

http://gfp.stparchive.com/Archive/GFP/GFP07201923P03.php

cf, 1 for 3, Hit by pitch, July 1923

George "Piano Legs" Gore, nicknamed for his huge calf muscles

Wonder if Grasshopper Maines was nicknamed for keeping the ball low

Johnny Dickshot, aside from having the worst name in baseball, also had the worst nickname in baseball, "Ugly". He received the name "ugly" as the self-proclaimed "ugliest man in baseball". But really with a name like that is anyone going to remember his nickname?

Looking at the E107 catalog I see there's "Klondike" Douglas. That's an interesting nickname.

Think he tried his hand in the gold rush?

that's a super cool pose too!!!!! The arms folded...eye roll!!!!!!

ullmandds wrote:that's a super cool pose too!!!!! The arms folded...eye roll!!!!!!

What would you do-ooo-ooo ... for a Klondike E107?

Not as much as I'd dooo-oo-oo...for an e107 wags...or matty...or keeler...or mcgraw...or young...etc!!!!!

ullmandds wrote:Not as much as I'd dooo-oo-oo...for an e107 wags...or matty...or keeler...or mcgraw...or young...etc!!!!!

Oh had this thread been a year earlier.

We've been foiled. Foiled, I say.

http://www.goodwinandco.com/LotDetail.aspx?lotid=20512

I just got my legendary auction catalog and it is incredible to view most of the set...most of which I haven't seen b4! I especially like the "unusual" ones like the poole...and the action poses.

ullmandds wrote:Not as much as I'd dooo-oo-oo...for an e107 wags...or matty...or keeler...or mcgraw...or young...etc!!!!!

+1