# What's the weirdest or funniest name in sports? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 20, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503 "2009-10-20T17:51:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/81 "2009-10-22T01:28:05Z")
In addition to the previously mentioned Wonderful Monds of the New Haven Ravens, I’d want to stock my minor league team with Clyde Clay “Porkchop” Pough of the Trenton Red Sox. But since it’s Series time, better load up on good major league pitching. I’ll take Chief Bender, Virgil Trucks, Van Lingle Mungo and of course, Urban Shocker. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/82 "2009-10-22T03:43:19Z")
I always feel kind of bad for whichever Capitals winger has to play on the Brooks Laich/Alexander Semin line. ---
**Author:** ![Pulp\_Friction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@Pulp\_Friction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pulp_Friction)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/83 "2009-10-22T03:53:08Z")
The Detroit Tigers had Rusty Kuntz. And the Detroit Lions had Harry Colon. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/84 "2009-10-22T04:06:58Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > Ochenta y cinco just doesn’t have the same ring to it. > > I wonder what’s the longest last name they’ve ever fit on the back of a jersey? Roethlisberger (14 letters) is the longest I can think of. I only know NFL examples. T.J. Houshmandzadeh ties that, but Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie beats it with 16 letters and a hyphen (17 characters). Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala should get a shout-out for having both a hyphen AND an apostrophe in his last name. And both Rodgers-Cromartie and Antonio Cromartie make me think of some sort of disease. It’s the Cromartie part - “doctor, the patient seems to have a violent case of Cromartie!” Don’t know why. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/85 "2009-10-22T04:07:39Z")
> [@Landshark](#): > > A now-retired NASCAR driver is named Lake Speed. And there was a Formula One driver named Scott Speed. Gaylord Perry ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/86 "2009-10-22T04:32:49Z")
I don’t watch baseball usually, but it’s the finals. Seen in Game 3 PHI vs. LAA… Phillies had to go deep in their roster for some reason and they pulled up a pitcher to the mound with the last name “Bastardo”. Yep, he looked hispanic to me. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/87 "2009-10-22T05:00:15Z")
[Pete LaCock](http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pics/pete_lacock_autograph.jpg) [Rusty Kuntz](http://dgesfootytalk.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/rusty-card.jpg) [Dick Pole](http://skeptisys.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/dick_pole_76.jpg) Joe ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/88 "2009-10-22T05:10:25Z")
[Here’s a pic of the famous Pusey](http://cache.deadspin.com/sports/upload/2006/07/Lucious2.jpg). I should add that I as well say “Amani Toomer” in Arnold’s voice, and also always think of Gil “Ga” Meche. (not Mesh, but pronounced that way.) Joe ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/89 "2009-10-22T06:51:02Z")
Urban Shocker was a pitcher for the Yankees and Browns from 1916 through 1928. Mickey Klutts played for the Yankees, A’s and Blue Jays from 1976 through 1983. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/90 "2009-10-22T07:33:19Z")
[Muffin Spencer-Devlin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muffin_Spencer-Devlin) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/91 "2009-10-22T07:50:40Z")
I’ve always been amused by Jason Veritek’s name, but that’s mostly because I’m a huge geek. (And the image of [Veritechs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VF-1_Valkyrie) playing baseball is _awesome_.) ---
**Author:** ![Omgalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/41988e/32.png) [@Omgalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omgalion)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/92 "2009-10-22T07:51:51Z")
Karmichael Hunt is a local rugby player. One hopes that commentators can avoid spoonerisms when he’s playing. ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/93 "2009-10-22T09:48:18Z")
There’s another football (soccer) player goes by the name of Danny Invincible. > **[Danny Invincibile](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Invincibile)** > > Daniele Invincibile (born 31 March 1979) is a football manager and former player who is the head coach of Thai League 2 club Ayutthaya United. > Born in Brisbane, Invincibile attended Payne Road Primary School, Brisbane, Australia. His clubs in Australia included The Gap, Taringa Rovers, Brisbane Strikers and the Marconi Stallions. He was selected in the Australian under-20s team and was a member of the Queensland Academy of Sport. > Invincibile joined Swindon Town on 29 July 2000 after being spo... He’s a boon for tabloid newspaper sports headline writers. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/94 "2009-10-22T15:47:23Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > I only know NFL examples. > > T.J. Houshmandzadeh ties that, but Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie beats it with 16 letters and a hyphen (17 characters). > > Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala should get a shout-out for having both a hyphen AND an apostrophe in his last name. > > And both Rodgers-Cromartie and Antonio Cromartie make me think of some sort of disease. It’s the Cromartie part - “doctor, the patient seems to have a violent case of Cromartie!” Don’t know why. How could I forget Fuamatu-Ma’afala! That was a beaut. Okay so then we can have Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada FAKE to Obafemi Ayenbadejo, then pitch it Chris Fumatu-Ma’afala to who will then run behind the block of Corey Lekkerkerker. If we can go back in time a bit, we can even have him get tackled by Manu Tuiasosopo. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/95 "2009-10-22T16:18:40Z")
Wide receiver Fair Hooker and kicker Happy Feller. You can ruminate over a “wide receiver” named Fair Hooker. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/96 "2009-10-22T16:30:03Z")
It’s not at all an unusual name in Czech, but if you translate it directly to English Jaromir Jagr’s name comes to something like “Springpeace Hunter.” ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/97 "2009-10-22T17:38:59Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > I only know NFL examples. > > T.J. Houshmandzadeh ties that, but Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie beats it with 16 letters and a hyphen (17 characters). > > Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala should get a shout-out for having both a hyphen AND an apostrophe in his last name. I’ll raise you to [20 letters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Vennegoor_of_Hesselink) (and here’s his [jersey](http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/9885/image022pj8lr3.jpg)). To my mind, the euphony of [Djamolidine Abdoujaparov](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djamolidine_Abdoujaparov) is hard to beat. It trips off the tongue beautifully. ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/98 "2009-10-22T17:51:39Z")
> [@KennerTheGreat](#): > > And [Drungo La Rue Hazewood](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hazewdr01.shtml) Wow. First round draft pick and played in only 3 games. Had 5 plate appearances with 4 strikeouts. What is the story here? Flameout? What made you think of this guy? Are you an old school O’s fan? Remember “Tonight, let it be Lowenstein?” ---
**Author:** ![Proudest\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/proudest_monkey/32/13257_2.png) [@Proudest\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Proudest_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/99 "2009-10-22T22:11:06Z")
Some west coast A.L. team has a pitcher named **Putz**. The announcers always call him “Poots” (which is bad enough in itself), but I’m not fooled. He’s a Putz, now and forever. I’d buy his jersey! Not really a weird or funny name, but I love to say **D’Brickashaw Ferguson** out loud. It fairly rolls off the tongue. I applaud Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson for having the foresight to name their future NFL linesman D’Brickashaw. Too bad he’s a Jet. ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503/100 "2009-10-22T23:06:13Z")
> [@Proudest\_Monkey](#): > > Some west coast A.L. team has a pitcher named **Putz**. The announcers always call him “Poots” (which is bad enough in itself), but I’m not fooled. He’s a Putz, now and forever. I’d buy his jersey! > > Not really a weird or funny name, but I love to say **D’Brickashaw Ferguson** out loud. It fairly rolls off the tongue. I applaud Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson for having the foresight to name their future NFL linesman D’Brickashaw. > > Too bad he’s a Jet. New York Mets (NL East) [J.J. Putz](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/putzjj01.shtml) is a former closer for the [Seattle Mariners](http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2007/09/24/HIliR4m6.jpg). As far as I know it was always pronounced putz by the sportscasters here in Seattle. The man himself pronounces it [‘puts.’](http://www.struckoutlooking.com/2008/12/21/putting-the-puts-into-putz/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-or-funniest-name-in-sports/514503.md?page=6)