# Athletes with the most appropriate names **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 21, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762 "2008-08-21T03:34:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/41 "2008-08-21T20:36:11Z")
Mario Lemieux’s name translates literally as “the best”. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/42 "2008-08-21T21:07:03Z")
I can’t believe that no one has mentioned **Lance Armstrong**. Now there’s a super hero name for ya. ---
**Author:** ![RogueRacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RogueRacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogueRacer)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/43 "2008-08-21T21:27:07Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Since someone has to post it: the race car driver named [Dick Trickle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Trickle) [/QUOTE] It’s not just a social disease! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/44 "2008-08-22T03:37:32Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Prince Fielder is also a vegetarian, which makes his conditioning a little more baffling. [/QUOTE] As a rotund vegetarian comedian once confessed to Jay Leno, “There’s no meat in doughnuts, Jay.” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/45 "2008-08-22T03:39:46Z")
Oh, and considering that one of an NFL cornerback’s responsibilities is jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage, “Quentin Jammer” of the San Diego Chargers has a pretty appropriate name. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/46 "2008-08-22T03:57:01Z")
Former Iowa and Detroit Lions quarterback [**Chuck Long**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Long). ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/47 "2008-08-22T04:02:57Z")
Also, there is a major league baseball player named [_Homer_ Bailey](http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/baileho02.shtml). Unfortunately, he’s a pitcher. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/48 "2008-08-22T06:51:41Z")
Gal Friedman, the Israeli 2004 windsurfing gold medalist - “gal” is Hebrew for “wave”. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/49 "2008-08-22T09:07:37Z")
Bob Walk and Cecil/Prince Fielder were my nominations but I’ll add Kyuuji Fujikawa, the star closer for the Hanshin Tigers (and currently on the Japanese Olympic baseball team.) _Kyuuji_, in Japanese, means baseball-playing kid. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/50 "2008-08-22T09:16:30Z")
I’m more inclined to think that it was a nickname given to him later, not a birth name. Unless people in Japan are actually given names like “baseball playing kid” at birth. Are they? ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/51 "2008-08-22T11:44:06Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] I’m more inclined to think that it was a nickname given to him later, not a birth name. Unless people in Japan are actually given names like “baseball playing kid” at birth. Are they? [/QUOTE] No, it’s not a nickname, although it’s far from being a “normal” name. His father played amateur baseball and he threw a no-hitter a few days before Kyuuji was born, which is what prompted him to attempt to cover his newborn son with ridicule. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/52 "2008-08-22T17:21:21Z")
In MLB, there’s former Cy Young reliever Eric Gagné, whose name in French literally means “(has) won”. On the less apropros name list for relievers would be Braden Looper. (A “looper” is a ball softly hit with backspin to the outfield that falls in for a hit by dint of hooking away from the fielder.) Or J.J. Putz as a closer for the Mariners. The first time I heard of him was while looking over the box scores and saw him listed as the losing pitcher with a blown save. “L: Putz (BS)”. I now know it’s pronounced “Pyoots”. But all the same, it’s a good thing he’s not blowing saves while playing for a NY team. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/53 "2008-08-22T17:24:49Z")
As for Prince Fielder, at least his name is appropriate in that he plays in the National League and hence does in fact take to the field defensively, as opposed to his father Cecil Fielder, who played for many years in the American League as a DH. And isn’t there a tennis player named Smashnova? Though perhaps her true calling is in Demolition Derby. ---
**Author:** ![Jaymosch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaymosch/32/2820_2.png) [@Jaymosch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaymosch)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/54 "2008-08-22T17:46:32Z")
My favorite is the swimmer Misty Hyman. > **[Misty Hyman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misty_Hyman)** > > Misty Dawn Marie Hyman (born March 23, 1979) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder. Hyman won the gold medal in the women's 200-meter butterfly at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. > In March 1996, she just missed making the U.S. Olympic team for the 1996 Games, finishing third and fourth at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100- and 200-meter butterfly events. > Hyman competed as a member of the U.S. Finswimming Team at the 8th World Cha... ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/55 "2008-08-22T17:55:28Z")
[QUOTE=brewha] Bears linebacker Dick Butt Kiss. OR Butkus I guess with a name like that you gotta be tough. [/QUOTE] For awhile I wondered if the phrase “you don’t know bupkis” was a polite way of saying “You don’t know D\*\*\*”. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/56 "2008-08-23T03:25:53Z")
The Philadelphia Eagles used to have a very good wide receiver named Mike Quick. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/57 "2008-08-23T03:54:33Z")
I went to school with a 7-foot-plus basketball player named Rafal Bigus. Looking him up online, it looks like he’s playing in a European league now. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/58 "2008-08-23T12:39:15Z")
James Worthy was very worthy ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/59 "2008-08-23T13:46:10Z")
From hockey… Lindy Ruff (he was) Jack Skille (he is) Larry Playfair (he didn’t) ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762/60 "2008-08-23T22:15:19Z")
**Major Applewhite** was a pretty good name for playing a position often referred to as the “Field General.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletes-with-the-most-appropriate-names/460762.md?page=4)