The Anatomy of Baseball Nicknames

By Ken Melley

The Anatomy of Baseball Nicknames is filled with a selection of over seven hundred monikers given athletes, mostly in the game of baseball, that will make for an enjoyable read whether you are a fan of "America's Game" or not. Be it "the Left Arm of God" or "the Octopus" or "the Gooney Bird," all of these have been tagged to significant ballplayers in their major league careers. Besides the major leagues, which date back to the late 1800s, there is a wonderful parallel history of Negro Baseball teams, owners, and players and the powerful way in which nicknames were integral to the game. The integration of Major League Baseball, which began in 1947, when Jackie Robinson stepped on the field with the Brooklyn Dodgers, did not end the nickname era. There is also a revealing chapter on girls and women baseball players. The first game between two women's teams, where the players were paid for their play, dates back to the 1870s. Along with all the nicknames cited, there are over two hundred pictures of players categorized by their nicknames. The reader will recognize and identify with many of these nicknames, but one will find that far too many have been lost to the history of the game.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9781642143782

Book preview

Introduction to Baseball Nicknames

What is it about baseball that generates nicknames for just about every player at every level of the game? Seems like it is a rite of passage into an unexplainable situation that has carried on through the decades. As far back as can be found in any record, meaning the 1840s and 1850s, nicknames have been a part of the game. Some are obvious, like those players called Lefty. Among all the nicknames, Lefty seems to be the most prevalent, and probably most easily tagged to a player. But there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of prefixed tags, some geographically stated, some physically noted, some animal in origin, some with good talent acknowledged, some with strange connections, and some pertaining to habits outwardly seen. The bottom line is, however, if you don’t have a nickname, then you must not be or have been a baseball player.

Take for example the nickname Big. On the school team, on the Little League team, or at the professional level, Big usually implies what it states: the person is of some hefty size compared to those around him. Take a player with the first name Bill. There are countless ways to tag the Bills of the game. In this work, you will see the Bigs and the Bills of the professional levels over the years. I will attempt to offer the reasons stated in journals, texts, records, and any other available sources to explain this aspect of the game of baseball. How is it that Gary Gaetti, the Rat, got that name? Where, when, and why is Spittin’ Bill Doak carried in the record books? There are at least 183 players called Lefty in the major league record books, but nary a Righty. The nickname Dutch is tagged to sixty-six players while you will find Tex remembered twenty-seven times, Rabbit sixteen times, Blackie twelve times, and Flash seven times. If your last name happens to be Gordon, chances are pretty good you will be called Flash sometime in your career. Are there other walks of life or careers that use nicknames to identify the participants in those fields?

For whatever reasoning, tagging a player with an animal’s name seems to carry on through the generations of baseball players. Moose, Bear, and Bull seem to be favorites. There are obvious citations. As an example, Tim Salmon was known as the Fish. Sticking with the watery names, Shad was hooked on to Clay Roe. And Dog corralled a lot of players, prefixed with Old, Mad, Crime, Bull, Bird, One, O, and Wonder.

One can imagine what Bill Bell and Gary Bell might be nicknamed. Of course, Ding Dong fits. And if that were not the case and your last name was Bell, like George Bell, you would be tagged as Liberty.

Then there are those nicknames that one would think might be insulting, such as Richie Hebner being called the Gravedigger. Don Zimmer got a lot of notice when Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez (HOF) threw him to the ground in a Red Sox-Yankees brawl. Zimmer is well known as the Gerbil.

Frank House was nicknamed Pig.

Others were tagged with habits they exhibited during their careers. There’s Jittery Joe Berry and Smiling Bill Terry (HOF). Some names work better written than spoken; as an example, the Wild Horse of the Osage was Pepper Martin’s tag. Saving the best for last though, Mr. Baseball was reserved for Bob Uecker. Don Mattingly was Donnie Baseball, and God was given to Hall of Fame umpire Doug Harvey (HOF). I wonder why. Harvey was a highly regarded umpire for thirty-one years in the National League (1962–1993). He umpired in nine League Championships and five World Series.

The only other reference to the Almighty was Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax’s the Left Arm of God. You can’t get much better than that!

There are several players who have had two or more nicknames; however, the player who caught my eye was Marty Marion, a legendary shortstop of the St. Louis Cardinals (and eventually the St. Louis Browns) from 1940 to 1953. Besides the honor of being known as Mr. Shortstop, his fielding prowess earned him the nickname the Octopus. For good measure, he was also called Slats.

Another fascinating nickname was given to Johnny Vander Meer, a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds and, eventually, the Cubs and Indians. The Dutch Master was the nickname applied to this fellow. He was in the big leagues from 1937 to 1951. He accomplished a feat that, to this day, no other pitcher has achieved in the history of the game. He hurled two consecutive no-hit games for the Reds. His first no-no was on June 11, 1938, against the Boston Bees (soon to become the Braves). On his next outing, June 15, 1938, against the mighty Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, he got Leo Durocher to fly out to center for the Dodgers’ last out in the ninth inning, again hurling a no-hitter. He soon was nicknamed Mr. Double No Hit.

To this day, when a major league pitcher accomplishes the amazing feat of throwing a no-hitter, when he takes the mound again, the question always arises, Will he throw a Vander Meer?

The creative side of nicknaming shows through when one comes across names such as the following:

Irvin Kaiser Wilhelm. This pitcher played for five different clubs from 1903 to 1921. The real Kaiser Wilhelm, Germany’s leader at the time, could incite animosity in the United States for his dictatorial actions, which eventually led to World War I. Irvin abhorred the nickname as opposing fans would taunt him when he was on the mound.

Virgil Fire Trucks. A seemingly natural connection followed this great Detroit Tigers hurler.

Poison Ivy Andrews. This fellow pitched for the Browns, Red Sox, Yankees, and Indians from 1931 to 1938. His first name was Ivy, and usually, he would like to have his full name recorded as Ivy Paul Andrews.

David Red Barron. This pitcher, who played for the Braves in 1929, became known as the Red Barron.

Chapter 2

The Genealogy of Baseball Team Names

• • •

While researching the records of Major League Baseball players who have been nicknamed Big, I came upon the names of baseball teams that are not in the lexicon of the game today. Prior to the establishment of the two major leagues, the National League (1876) and the American League (1901), there were mostly organized teams in the 1870s and 1880s. These were the forerunners of today’s clubs. These teams are therefore identified in the record-keeping of the sport.

For some of these early teams, the genealogy traces the ancestry of modern-day clubs. For others, the connection is indirect. However, loose it may be, there is still a connection.

THE NATIONAL LEAGUE

The Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee in 1953 and then to Atlanta in 1966. They were preceded by

The Red Caps 1876–1882

The Beaneaters 1883–1906

The Doves 1907–1910

The Rustlers 1911

The Bees 1936–1940

The Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958. They were preceded by

The Bridegrooms 1890–1898

The Superbas 1899–1910

The Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers 1911-1912

The Robins 1914–1931

The Chicago Cubs were preceded by

The White Stockings 1876–1889

The Colts 1890–1897

The Orphans 1898–1901

The Pittsburgh Pirates were preceded by:

The Louisville Grays 1876–1877

The Allegheny’s 1887–1890

The Colonels 1892–1899

The Philadelphia Phillies were preceded by

The Ruby Legs 1880–1882

The Quakers 1883–1889

The New York Giants moved to San Francisco in 1957 and were preceded by

The Gothams, who had been the Troy Trojans 1883–1884

The St. Louis Cardinals were preceded by

The Browns 1892–1898

The Perfectos 1899

In the record-keeping of Major League Baseball, the following teams may be referenced:

The Cleveland Blues 1879–1884

The Cleveland Spiders 1889–1899

Detroit Wolverines 1881–1888

The Indianapolis Hoosiers 1878

The Kansas Cowboys 1886

The Milwaukee Cream City’s 1878

The New York Mutuals 1876

The Providence Grays 1878–1885

The St. Louis Maroons 1885–1886

The Syracuse Stars 1879

The Toledo Maumees 1888

The Hartford Dark Blues

As for the current time frame, from 1962 to 1964, the Houston Astros were known as the Houston Colts.

THE AMERICAN LEAGUE

The Baltimore Orioles of 1901–1902 became the New York Highlanders from 1903 to 1912. The Highlanders became the New York Yankees in 1913 and retain that name to the present day.

The Baltimore Orioles of 1954 to the present day had been the St. Louis Browns from 1902 to 1953.

The Boston Red Sox of 1907 to the present day were

The Somersets 1901–1902

The Pilgrims 1903–1906

The Washington Senators of 1901 to 1970 became the Minnesota Twins in 1970.

The Chicago White Sox of the present day were the White Stockings from 1901 to 1903.

The Cleveland Indians of the present day were

The Cleveland Blues 1901–1904

The Cleveland Naps 1905–1914

The Kansas City Athletics played from 1955 to 1967. They had been the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 to 1954 and then became the Oakland Athletics in 1968.

The Kansas City Royals of the present day came into existence in 1969.

The Los Angeles Angels of 1961 to 1964 became the California Angels in 1965.

The Milwaukee Brewers of 1901 became the St. Louis Browns in 1902.

The Milwaukee Brewers of 1970 to the present day had been the Seattle Pilots for one season in 1969.

The Texas Rangers of 1972 to the present day had been the Washington Senators from 1961 to 1971.

The Detroit Tigers have played in Detroit from 1901 to the present day.

The Toronto Blue Jays came into existence in 1977 and play to the present day in Toronto.

Chapter 3

Big, Bigger, and Biggest in Baseball

There is some question as to when the era of modern baseball began. There is a plethora of records following the establishment of professional baseball that suggests players began receiving compensation for their baseball talent around 1870. (The Cincinnati Red Stockings started paying their players in 1869.) There are records of teams and players a few years prior to that, but none as complete as those that highlight a more serious approach to the game. In the late 1870s and early 1880s, several teams came together to form a league. The National Baseball League, composed of eight teams, was created in 1876. A second league came into existence in 1901, and it was called the American Baseball League. Interleague competition came about in 1903, culminating in the first World Series. Some suggest that this was the beginning of the modern era of baseball. Others suggest that the modern era started in the 1920s, shortly after the Black Sox scandal of 1919.

For comparative record-keeping, this book will follow the modern era from the outset of the 1920s. There are many similarities in the pre- and post-1920s; however, it is unrealistic to suggest that baseball players’ skill levels in the twentieth and now twenty-first centuries are comparable to those in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Besides a general uptick in talent, speed levels, and pitching speeds, improvements in equipment and physical conditioning have set today’s players apart from their ancestral brothers. In addition to these conditions, 1920 is generally assumed to have been the year ending the dead-ball era and the beginning of the livelier ball era of the game.

An interesting, but not particularly scientific, comparison suggests that we look at those players, who, down through the years, have been given