Dick Trickle: Current NASCAR driver
I.M. Hipp: Late 70’s Nebraska walk-on turned All America. Career avg more than 7 yards per carry. One game NFL career with the Raiders: 0 carrys, 0 yards, 0 touchdowns
Fair Hooker: Early 70’s WR with the New Orleans Saints.
Red Robbins: ABA journeyman center. One stop included the San Diego Conquistadores
Fair Hooker played on MNF once, Don Meredith said,“Fair Hooker, never met one!” Keith Jackson didn’t wanna go there!
My favorite has always been Bart Crashley - he used to play hockey in the old WHA.
There was a basketball player a few years ago named World B Free.
The USFL had Turdell Middleton.
Chandra Cheeseborough: World Class Sprinter who the TV announcers inevitably referred to as Chandra CHEESEBURGER.
Sleepy Floyd: Golden State Warriors
Fennis Dembo: single NBA season with the Pistons
Oil Can Boyd: Boston Red Sox
Plaxico Burress: Pittsburgh Steelers
Picabo Street: Olympic skier
A few years ago, there was a college basketball player named God Shamgod. Any pressure on a kid named God, ya think?
U.of Virginia had a basketball player named Majestic Mapp. Even better, he had an older brother who also played (don’t know where) named Scientific.
The Phillies had a 2B named Putsy Caballero
Current college football players:
I-Perfection Harris, DB Ga Tech
Craphonso Thorpe, WR Fla State
Think that kid’s grade school classmates gave him a hard time because of his name?
Can’t forget Miroslav Satan of the Buffalo Sabres.
Dick Butkus takes the cake
Honorable Mention:
Larry Csonka
Leon Spinks
Misty Hyman gold medallist 200m 'fly Sydney 2000.
Dick Buttons (did he ever play anything, or is he just an announcer guy?)
Rich Zisk (say that one five times fast).
Ed Sprinkle (Chicago Bears, a LOOOONG time ago).
Boubacar Aw (pronounced Ow) - Played hoops for Georgetown
Forgot yet another Georgetown alum (really the only place to go for interesting names)
Ya Ya Dia
Peaches Bartkowitz – A fair-to-middling pro tennis player of the 70s, winner of 14 tournaments. Her name even became part of a Monty Python routine.
Plums Bartkowitz – Peaches’s younger sister. A junior tennis champ, but never made it in the pros.
Zenon Andrusyshyn – Placekicker for UCLA and around the NFL/CFL/USFL. The name is pure poetry.
Sean Fitzmaurice – Played in about three games as an outfielder for the Mets. About as Irish a name as you can find.
Ronald Mcdonald – a minor league outfielder in the Mets system, nicknamed “Big Mac,” of course.
Howard Johnson – hotel owner . . . I mean tuba player . . . I mean major league third baseman.
Bob Petit – one of the early NBA stars; his last name is French for “little.” So there is room of the the little man in the pros.
Preston Ridlehuber – journeyman NFL player whose greatest moment was a play nobody saw – he scored the final touchdown in the famous “Heidi Bowl” game.
The worst sports name of all time:
Rusty Kuntz
Formerly a backup outfielder in the early 80’s, played the the Tigers in '84 when they won it all. Of course, he claimed it was pronounced “koontz.” A likely story.
Let’s also not forget ballplayers named
Van Lingle Mungo
Urban Shocker
Wonderful Monds
Milton Bradley
Fielder Jones (well, of course)
Yogi Berra
He put it on himself - think the kid (and World B Free) were both from Brooklyn, and changed their names. IIRC World was named Lloyd, and Shammgod was the other guy’s first name. They may have been legal name changes.
Harry Caray - Sports Announcer
Lake Speed - NASCAR Driver
Sorry, the single best sports name in history was a college basketball player at Memphis in the mid-80’s. His name?
Baskerville Holmes
Shirley Muldowney: former funny car driver/owner
Dikembe Motumbo: Georgetown BBall; various NBA clubs
Billy White Shoes Johnson: mid 70’s kick returner/wr Houston Oilers
Knute Rockne: Notre Dame
Kiki Van de Weghe: various NBA clubs
Sterling Marlin: current NASCAR driver
Tim Biakabutuka: U Mich RB, Carolina Panthers
BTW, I think Tim Biakabutuka’s real first name is Tshimonga or something like that.
I nominate Cornelius MacGillicuddy. Now why’d he have to go and shorten it to Connie Mack?
I do believe he was an Olympic skater, but I could be wrong.
My nominee:
Bronco Nagurski, old-time football player
And for brevity:
Ed Ott, baseball catcher for a few teams