The Nickname is Dead

I was watching a baseball game the other day, and hearing the lineups announced, I got to puzzling about something truly trivial. What ever happened to the art of nicknaming? Did it die with Grantland Rice?

Schoolboy Rowe. Van Lingle Mungo. Dazzy Vance. The Big Train. Pistol Pete. Highpockets Kelly. Hit ’em Where They Ain’t. Big Six. Iron Joe. Smokey Joe. Bullet Bob. Old Hoss. The Iron Horse. The Grey Eagle. Catfish. Rabbit. The Baby Bull. Twinkletoes. Schnozz. Slats. The Chairman of the Board. Big D. Sad Sam. Sudden Sam. Frenchy. Germany. The Georgia Peach. The Kentucky Colonel. The Duke of Flatbush. The Wild Horse of the Osage. The Fordham Flash. The Commerce Comet. The Flying Scot.

The Sultan of Swat. Hammerin’ Hank. The Say-Hey Kid.

Somehow, A-Rod, K-Rod, and even The Big Unit just don’t have the same ring.

Anybody else remember any?

9 Comments

  1. My favorite active player nicknames are The Big Hurt and Crime Dog. Those nicknames both came from TV broadcasters. I think the decline in nicknames probably has something to do with television, but I’m not sure exactly what.

  2. Except that Berman has tried like crazy to attach nicknames to players, and for the most part, they don’t stick. Do you “really” remember Jim “Two Silhouettes on” DeShaies?

  3. Probably they just sound corny to the current generation. Although, you may notice, using one’s middle name, in addition to first and last name, seems to be gaining in popularity.
    Jen “the Moose” (yes, it’s my actual varsity track team nickname. And I was a skinny little thing, so I’m not sure how I got branded ‘Moose’)

  4. Probably they just sound corny to the current generation. Although, you may notice, using one’s middle name, in addition to first and last name, seems to be gaining in popularity.
    Jen “the Moose” (yes, it’s my actual varsity track team nickname. And I was a skinny little thing, so I’m not sure how I got branded ‘Moose’)

  5. I liked Pudge for Carlton Fisk, and hate that it’s been appropriated for someone new. No originality any more.
    Musashimaru, the famous Sumo wrestler, is called The Moose, by the way, Jen. Whenever he gets on a tear, it’s, “The Moose is Loose!”

  6. Maybe you should read my book–Sports Nicknames: 20,000 Professionals Worldwide. The nickname isn’t dead in any sort of way. Everyone has a nickname and probably always will have one.

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