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Wait til Next Year . . . is making a come back.

I am going to mix a bit of the philosophy of my life into this blog as I continue to highlight some of my baseball card collection. (hoping the card collectors of this world welcome me back)

Its been a tough 18 months for me . . . the Chicago Cubs have had it rough as well.


This site will be devoted to all those who need to define what "wait til next year" means.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Nicknames that stick

Baseball is famous for nicknames; from players to teams, to years and decades baseball has to boast the most nicknames of any sport. We could all have a conversation using only nicknames and never miss a beat. No other sport can identify so many players, teams and years with nicknames - Babeball wins hands down for this !

We all should know Hall of Famers like; "Hammerin Hank" to "Mr. Cub" to "The Lip" to "Salty"; "Iron Man", "Ryno" and "The Kid" and hundreds more . . .
Current players like "The Big Man", "Dirtbag" and "Godzilla" to "The Man", "The Dirty Byrd" and "Werewolf". There is also "A-Rod", "K-Rod" and "I-Rod". (for those interested in the somewhat complete list just check out wikipedia)

Teams even have names like "The Loveable Losers", "The Big Red Machine", "The Boys of Summer" and "The Brew Crew". We also have the "year of the pitcher" and "the decade of steroids".

And some nicknames just stick with players as if they are their "real" name; like Albert Walker "Sparky" Lyle. Was there ever a card with his "real" name on it ?

I personnaly like players who start out their career with their "real" name and have their nickname take over their persona like . . . John Wesley "Boog" Powell. Note in 1962 he is John Powell . . .somewhere along the years John was "forgotten".
I like this 1971 card where his "autograph" actually depicts both: John "Boog" Powell.
Who is your favorite player / nickname ? Sometimes nicknames just stick . . .

2 comments:

  1. I really dislike the new nicknames, like ARod, IRod, DLee. Nothing creative there.
    My favorites are Oil Can Boyd, Tug McGraw, Tarzan Joe Wallis, Mark 'the Bird' Fidrych'and Blue Moon Odom.

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  2. I'm partial to Ty "I'm gonna spike you whether you're in the base path or not" Cobb. That didn't stick so they went with "The Georgia Peach."

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