# What is the best sports team/individual nickname?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [June 26, 2002, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050 "2002-06-26T15:43:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/1 "2002-06-26T15:43:30Z")
What great nickname sticks out in your mind? I have a few individual favorites…
[ul]
[li]Charlie Hustle - Pete Rose[/li][li]Mr. October - Reggie Jackson[/li][li]Iron Horse - Lou Gehrig[/li][li]The Sultan of Swat - Babe Ruth[/li][li]Elroy Hersh - Crazy Legs[/li][li]Jim Hunter - Catfish[/li][li]The Great One - Wayne Gretzky[/li][li]Bob Kelley - Battleship[/li][li]Jerome Bettis - The Bus[/li][li]Richard Petty - The King[/li][li]Karl Malone - The Mailman[/li][/ul]
As well as some team-specific nicknames:
[ul]
[li]The Purple People Eaters - Minnesota Vikings Defense[/li][li]The Steel Curtain - Pittsburgh Steelers Defense[/li][li]The Big Red Machine - Cincinnati Reds[/li][/ul]
You get the idea. What are some of your favorites?
---
### Author:  [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/2 "2002-06-26T15:45:57Z")
I seemed to have switched the list format in the first post. Oh well.
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### Author:  [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/3 "2002-06-26T16:15:14Z")
Best Group/Team Nicknames:
Gashouse Gang (1930’s St. Louis Cardinals)
Whiz Kids (1950 Phillies)
Doomsday (the 1970s Dallas Cowboys’ Defense)
Orange Crush (the 1977 Denver Broncos)
Killer Bees (1982 Miami Dolphins Defense)
Over the Hill Gang (the 1970s Redskins under George Allen)
The Smurfs (1980s Redskins receivers)
The GAG Line (Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield & Rod Gilbert of the NY Rangers)
-
Individuals:
The Mad Bomber (Daryle Lamonica, Raiders Quarterback)
Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd (Red Sox pitcher)
“The People’s Cherce” (Brooklyn Dodger outfielder, Dixie Walker)
“Skoonj” (Carl Furillo, Dodger right fielder… short for “scungilli,” an Italian dish made from snails)
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### Author:  [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/4 "2002-06-26T16:33:53Z")
Back in the deadball era, they had a lot of great names. My personal favorite was Bob “Death to Flying Things” Ferguson.
Other good ones were Russ “The Mad Monk” Meyer, Tony “The Apollo of the Box” Mulane, Ed “The Only” Nolan.
Of course, we can’t forget Fred “Bonehead” Merkle. An outstanding player whose career will forever be defined by one stupid mistake. Similar, in many ways, to Bill Buckner (except that Merkle’s mistake happened in his rookie season).
Another odd one was The Rabbi of Swat. That was the nickname of Moses Solomon, a minor-league slugger who had a brief cup of coffee with the Giants in 1923 (and hit no homers in the majors).
Probably the worst nickname was Hugh “Losing Pitcher” Mulcahy. He pitched for the Phillies in the 30s and 40s, who ended up with a career record of 45-89.
Zev Steinhardt
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### Author:  [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/5 "2002-06-26T16:57:10Z")
Individuals:
[list]
[li]The Refrigerator-William Perry[/li][li]The Galloping ghost - Red Grange[/li][li]Michael “Air” Jordan (Says it all really)[/li][li]The Glide - Clyde Drexler[/li][li]Sweetness - Walter Payton[/li][li] “Shoeless” Joe Jackson[/li][li]CuJo - Curtis Joseph[/li][li] The Hammer - Hank Aaron[/li][li]The Georgia Peach - Ty Cobb[/li][li]“Mean” Joe Greene[/li]
Teams/Groups (In addition to those already mentioned)
[li] New York Sack Exchange- Jets early 80’s D line[/li][li] Purple Reign - U Washington’s 1984 defense[/li][li] Phi Slamma Jamma- U. Houston early 80’s basketball[/li] Murderer’s Row - 1927 Yankees
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### Author:  [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/6 "2002-06-26T17:03:28Z")
Individuals:
[list]
[li]The Refrigerator-William Perry[/li][li]The Galloping ghost - Red Grange[/li][li]Michael “Air” Jordan (Says it all really)[/li][li]The Glide - Clyde Drexler[/li][li]Sweetness - Walter Payton[/li][li] “Shoeless” Joe Jackson[/li][li]CuJo - Curtis Joseph[/li][li] The Hammer - Hank Aaron[/li][li]The Georgia Peach - Ty Cobb[/li][li]“Mean” Joe Greene[/li]
Teams/Groups (In addition to those already mentioned)
[li] New York Sack Exchange- Jets early 80’s D line[/li][li] Purple Reign - U Washington’s 1984 defense[/li][li] Phi Slamma Jamma- U. Houston early 80’s basketball[/li] Murderer’s Row - 1927 Yankees
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### Author:  [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/7 "2002-06-26T17:35:52Z")
Bill “Twin Killing” Mazeroski
“Mean Joe” Green
Willie “Pops” Stargell
Fan club - “Franco’s Italian Army”
I’ll give you two guesses where I’m from. 😃
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### Author:  [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/8 "2002-06-26T17:50:17Z")
Two East Midlands football (soccer) clubs:
Nottingham Forest FC - The tricky trees.
Derby County FC - The sheep shaggers. (For some reason Derby County fans don’t like that nickname.)😛
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### Author:  [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/9 "2002-06-26T18:13:25Z")
Does Mr. Armageddon from the Simpsons count?
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### Author:  [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/10 "2002-06-26T18:13:36Z")
Not necessarily the athletes, but I like the names:
Deon “Primetime” Sanders
Andre “Bad Moon” Rison
Dale Earnhart - “The Intimidator”
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### Author:  [@conway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conway)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/11 "2002-06-26T18:43:15Z")
My favorites:
Shawn Bradley (of the Dallas Mavericks): Human Hypodermic Needle
Corliss Williamson (of the Detroit Pistons): The Big Nasty
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### Author:  [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/12 "2002-06-26T20:35:18Z")
Gianfranco “Gorgon” Zola
“One Size” Fitz Hall
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### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/13 "2002-06-26T20:50:49Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by brandocet \*
> \*\*My favorites:
>
> Shawn Bradley (of the Dallas Mavericks): Human Hypodermic Needle
> \*\*
Here in Dallas he is refered to as _The Mantis_.
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### Author:  [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/14 "2002-06-26T21:07:33Z")
Raghib “Rocket” Ismail
“Marvelous” Marvin Hagler
Hector “Macho” Camacho
swimmer Ian Thorpe, “the Thorpedo”
Ed “Too-Tall” Jones
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### Author:  [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/15 "2002-06-26T21:27:03Z")
A few more…
The French Connection (Gilbert Perreault, Richard Martin, Rene Robert), for the Buffalo Sabres in the 1970s.
The Minister of Defense (ordained minister Reggie White)
“Night Train” (Defensive back Dick Lane, the only NFL hall of famer born here in Austin)
Fred “the Chicken” Stanley (much beloved Yankees utility infielder of the 70s)
From the old ABA, there was Dr. J (Julius Erving) and the Iceman (George Gervin).
Remember the cool suits and hats that gave Walt Frazier the name “Clyde”?
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### Author:  [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2002, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/16 "2002-06-26T22:22:14Z")
[Berman](http://www.op.net/~lmk/baseball/berman.htm) has lots and lots of baseball nicknames.
[ESPN](http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/baseball/nicknames/010612.html) has a poll about them.
[The Baseball page](http://www.thebaseballpage.com/faq/nicknames.htm) has a decent list too.
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### Author:  [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2002, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/17 "2002-06-27T06:12:17Z")
William Perry was known to his teammates as **Mudslide** , because that’s allegedly what his body resembled when he took his shirt off.
And as much as it pains me to say it, Stanford’s defensive line (?) in the late '60s was known as the Screaming Thunderchickens, or something like that. **Go Bears!**
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### Author:  [@Kaotic\_Newtral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaotic_Newtral)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2002, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/18 "2002-06-27T15:21:29Z")
I can’t believe noone has mentioned:
Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson
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### Author:  [@Semp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Semp)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2002, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/19 "2002-06-27T23:53:39Z")
Johnny “Blood” McNally, running back for the Packers in the 1930s. At least I’m pretty sure his last name was McNally, you rarely hear that part mentioned. I’m surprised there isn’t a comic book character named Johnny Blood.
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### Author:  [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2002, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-sports-team-individual-nickname/116050/20 "2002-06-28T00:40:54Z")
Bone Fans of the Seattle Mariners know of who I speak. When Griffey Jr. played here he was known as “The Kid”. Guess middle age as finally caught up with him.
Dale Earnhardt was commonly known as “The Intimidator” to most fans as previously posted but to true NASCAR fans he was also known as **Ironhead.**
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