Nicknames in Sports

Perhaps due to my diminished reading of the daily sports page, I seem to see less and less of the descriptive and intriguing nick names of sports figures from the past.

Growing up and long before Chris Bermanisms, I remember how the Oakland A's had two pitchers with nick names that stood out: Jim "Catfish" Hunter" (he ran away from home, went fishing, and returned home with catfish) and John "Blue Moon" Odom (he also ran away from home and returned on a night that featured a blue moon). The nicknames fit like actual middle names and sports announcers typically referred to them by their nicknames. Even the Yankees had George "Doc" Medich who became an orthapedic surgeon after his playing days. In the 80's, my beloved RedSox had Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd owing to his penchant for drinking large quantities of beer which is referred to in his homestate of Louisiana as "oil".

In college football, Notre Dame feature Rahib "Rocket" Ismael who would propel out of the backfield like a rocket. His brother, who played for the University of Pittsburgh was dubbed "Missile"; and, their mother was given the honorary moniker of "Launch Pad".

Oh, those good 'ol days.....