OT: College & Professional Athletes Nicknames

[Beemer]

Tire Iron was also nicknamed "Bad News" Barnes. Trivia question.................whom did he attack with the tire iron?

Was it one of his PC teammates? I can't remember to be honest.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Was it one of his PC teammates? I can't remember to be honest.

I doubt it was Ernie D, but I do think it was a teammate.

 

[BobbyJ]

I doubt it was Ernie D, but I do think it was a teammate.

It was, a big guy named Larry Ketvirtis. It's why his nickname was Bad News.

Future NBA Player Marvin 'Bad News' Barnes Was Caught in the Most Inept Robbery Attempt Ever

Police never had an easier time identifying the suspect in a crime than they did the day that Marvin "Bad News" Barnes tried to commandeer a bus.

www.sportscasting.com

 

[Bigboote]

Tire-iron Marvin's botched robbery (he wore a jacket with his name on it) is one of my favorite stupid criminal stories. If you told that as a "Florida man" story it would be totally appropriate.

 

[Skeets]

Ah, Big Red, what a horse!

Isn't Big Red the guy who does the U - C - O - N - N cheer at men's games?

 

[boontonbomber]

All right guys, chew on these..........

The horse __________________

Was is "Bad moon" ?

Who was "The BIG Dipper?

Ah, Wilt, the Big Dipper! I saw him at Randall's Island in NYC in 1964, where the Olympic track and field trials were going on. He got up out of his seat, it seemed like he just kept getting up and up! He was so big. He is considered by some to be one of the great all - around athletes, so fast,so strong.He was a track& field standout at Overbrook HS and at Kansas. And is in the Volleyball Hall of Fame.And,of course, also known as Wilt the Stilt.

 

[boontonbomber]

The only LA Happy I heard of was Happy Hairston of the Lakers.

"Happy" Felton, in Brooklyn and not a player. Did a pre-game show with kids, fielding and throwing with Dodger players.

 

[Carnac]

The "BIG Dipper" was in fact one of Wilt Chamberlain's monikers. Laker radio announcer Chick Hern use to refer to him as "The Dipper" all the time during his calls of Wilt's Laker games. I was standing at the entrance to the Laker locker room during a game at the Forum in 1972. As the Lakers went back to the locker room, Wilt passed by me at a distance of no more than 5-6 feet. The man was H-U-G-E!!! He was tall and wide. Looking at him on TV or from the stands, you couldn't really get a true perspective of how BIG he was.

I ran into the Lakers Michael Cooper as he was coming out of a McDonalds one morning in Inglewood California. Cooper is 6'6". As I walked by him (he was coming out as I was going in), he looked every bit of 6-6. When you see him on TV next to other taller players on the floor, he didn't look that tall.

 

[The deacon]

Doctor Strangeglove has got to be an all time classic nickname!!

Agreed, Mdoggie, but well deserved... it was Dick Stuart, a slugging first baseman during the '60s. He was given that moniker during the years after Kubrick's legendary movie, Dr. Strangelove, came out. He played pretty awful defense with the Pirates and Red Sox, all the while hitting lots of homers. His season best in homers was 42 in '63 for the Red Sox, the same season he had 29 errors!

I'm a bit surprised no one remembers Stuart and his nickname. A well-known quote (and I apologize for not remembering who said it) was attributed to some fellow player after Stuart had surprisingly scooped up a hard ground ball and made the play unassisted at first base. As he ran by Stuart, the guy said: 'You're slowing down, Dick. You used to be able to get out of the way of those.'

Stuart was about 6'4", maybe 230 pounds and fortunately an affable guy. I played golf with him a fair number of times in the years right after his baseball retirement. He would show up at the course I played in Connecticut so he could play big-money Nassaus against one of our wealthier members. I was just out of high school and had little money but Dick enjoyed playing me for $5 just for the competition. My most distinct memory of his golf was that he didn't use a driver, rather just dropped the ball on the tee and would hit long, high fades with a three wood. Sadly for him, his putting stroke was about as effective as his glovework.

Anyway, the one and only Dr. Strangelove... RIP, Dick.

 

[tkaes]

This thread seems to be winding down so I thought I'd throw out this trivia question. It's an oldie but a goodie from the "betcha a beer you can't name..." from down at your favorite watering hole.

Years ago the MVPs in the major professional leagues (NBA, NFL, AFL, and each league in MLB) all wore the same number.

1. What year?
2. What number?
3. What are their names?

Ancillary question: In the NBA player's junior year of college, 4 of the 5 starters were all drafted by and played in the NBA; 2 of which are NBA all-time greats. The 5th starter went on to become a hall of fame coach. Name the college and each of the 5 players.

This bit of trivia is sort of related to the topic of this thread in that 4 of the 5 MVPs were known by their nicknames although 3 were common or logical nicknames of their given names. The nickname of the 4th was in no way related to his given name except that both began with the same letter. Only the NBA MVP was known by his given name.

 

[boontonbomber]

The "BIG Dipper" was in fact one of Wilt Chamberlain's monikers. Laker radio announcer Chick Hern use to refer to him as "The Dipper" all the time during his calls of Wilt's Laker games. I was standing at the entrance to the Laker locker room during a game at the Forum in 1972. As the Lakers went back to the locker room, Wilt passed by me at a distance of no more than 5-6 feet. The man was H-U-G-E!!! He was tall and wide. Looking at him on TV or from the stands, you couldn't really get a true perspective of how BIG he was.

I ran into the Lakers Michael Cooper as he was coming out of a McDonalds one morning in Inglewood California. Cooper is 6'6". As I walked by him (he was coming out as I was going in), he looked every bit of 6-6. When you see him on TV next to other taller players on the floor, he didn't look that tall.

I used to think that Wilt was a tall guy, but then I happened by Manute Bol at Springfield College years ago. He was playing for Bridgeport, and all he did was hoist up threes, and curse rather loudly. He walked right by me after halftime. Whole new take on tall..

 

[Carnac]

This thread has run its course and is now on life support. We had some fun with it. I learned some things about some athletes I didn’t know before. A tip of the turban to everyone that participated.