Nickname Etiquette

by punchinjudy on Jun 11, 2009 9:54 PM EDT

So I was with yer dog first an avid poster on Veb at the Stros Cubbies paint drying 13 inning drama at minutemaid park. It was a fun as we took my daughter to her first(rememberable game 9 months first one) game and got autographs. It was Roy Oswalt bobblehead doll day, which on his it says Roy Oswalt "The wizzard". Yer dog and I have discussed that Oswalt has had this nickname by houstoninas for a bit. Is it maybe that Ozzies was the wizzard of Oz as a full nickname however often shortened to the wizard?

One problem. The nickname is taken. As a Card fan I'm angry, but as we discussed more as a fan it seems a rule has been broken? When given nicknames there are usually no repeats..here are some off the head nicknames that are famous, and stand for one person.

- The Admiral

- The Great Bambino

- El Hombre

- The Glove

- Sweetness

- Human Highlight reel

- "the man"

Now keep in mind I'm not naive I know nicknames like "gibby" can apply more than once (both to guys named gibson though) My point is more the unique ones, and keep it to sports. If I'm missing famous repeats let me know.

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Let's hope no one steals stav infection...

Decrease runs scored?
Maybe.

Decrease winning? Never seen that proven.
-SFTU

by hazel on Jun 11, 2009 10:04 PM EDT reply actions

i think that will neither be

famous nor stolen..dare i say..infectous?

I can't believe i gave up a homerun to that punch and judy hitter-major league 2

by punchinjudy on Jun 11, 2009 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

those unoriginal bastards

they really call him that? you gotta be kidding me.

It kind of sounds like he’s [Duncan] just running around like a puppy out there – full speed ahead in random directions. – BTown Birds Fan

by gdm426 on Jun 11, 2009 11:54 PM EDT reply actions

sarcasm? yes thats what they call him

i know its a little thing, but growing up there was only one Wizard..

I can't believe i gave up a homerun to that punch and judy hitter-major league 2

by punchinjudy on Jun 12, 2009 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions

They've been calling him that for years

I’m surprised people don’t know this.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Jun 12, 2009 12:43 AM EDT up reply actions

How'd they come up with it?

Patiently awaiting the day Colby Rasmus does this: .275/.381/.551/.932, 29HR, in St. Louis...and I'm wanting an Allen Craig call-up!

by RunninRedbird on Jun 12, 2009 8:32 AM EDT up reply actions

Os = Oz

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Jun 12, 2009 8:47 AM EDT up reply actions

Vowel fail!

I actually knew about this nickname for Oswalt, but I never understood where it came from until now. And it doesn’t make any damn sense. Isn’t his name pronounced “Ohs-walt”, as in a long O? Whereas Ozzie is pronounced “Ah-zee”. There is no book or movie or character from said movie or book named the Wizard of Ohze.
I’m not mad at you Hardcore, I’m mad at Houston.

There's no "I" in team. There's also no "I" in "B-g Mac Land".

by mattybobo on Jun 12, 2009 9:31 AM EDT up reply actions

Oswalt should be

OH SHIT i blew it again… Ohs= oh shit lol Ozzie = ahs

Pujols takes out "I" in BIG and "A" in MAC, previously considered to be an unyielding, consonant threat

by DESTROYER on Jun 12, 2009 9:33 AM EDT up reply actions

I was going to say he should be the Wizard of Old

But then I remembered he’s like, 32 maybe? Not exactly old yet.

There's no "I" in team. There's also no "I" in "B-g Mac Land".

by mattybobo on Jun 12, 2009 9:42 AM EDT up reply actions

No kidding

It’s not only unoriginal and ripping off from a historically better player, it’s idiocy.

Not afraid to nitpick

by joker24 on Jun 15, 2009 10:05 AM EDT up reply actions

Excellent point about the vowel fail

The long “O” totally makes “the Wizard” refer to nothing.

Best Houston can hope for:
Cheeroy-Os

"All you campers, besides the chiggers, you'll come up with a sleeping bag from Bass Pro Shops." Mike Shannon, 08.15, promo for Cardinals Campout

by Nelson Brockabrella on Jun 16, 2009 8:34 PM EDT up reply actions

HOW DARE THEY

TAKE MY CHILDHOOD HEROES NAME AND TARNISH IT!!!! OSWALT HAS BEEN DECLINING LATELY

they should apologize for sullying the great and “powerful”…ha made a funny OZ!!!!

hellfire and brimstone, and bad baseball shall fall upon the astros…oh wait it already has!

Pujols takes out "I" in BIG and "A" in MAC, previously considered to be an unyielding, consonant threat

by DESTROYER on Jun 12, 2009 9:31 AM EDT up reply actions

I knew it

and mentioned that we had discussed it previously(maybe vague in that part) it just got me thinking more when i saw the doll…

how many famous nicknames have been re-issued…none of you have answered that yet…im open to the idea there might be more.

I can't believe i gave up a homerun to that punch and judy hitter-major league 2

by punchinjudy on Jun 12, 2009 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions

More nicknames, well, at least one

How about:
“Tewks”
“The Hawk”
“Ryno”
“Jimmy Baseball”
“Big Train” Walter Johnson
“Wee Willie”
“Joltin Joe”
“The Kentucky Colonel” it appears we have borrowed this from Earle Combs
“Hammerin Hank”
Jim “Catfish” Hunter
“Yaz”

Ok, so it turned out to be more than one.

C'mon you Redbirds, lets prove em' wrong, again!

by yer dog first on Jun 12, 2009 11:31 AM EDT reply actions

Say Hey Kid

"If I prepare myself, my stuff is good and I'm going to get outs. That is a fact." - Chris Carpenter

by spants on Jun 12, 2009 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions

are any duplicate..??

I can't believe i gave up a homerun to that punch and judy hitter-major league 2

by punchinjudy on Jun 12, 2009 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Wasn't Hank Greenberg,

also known as Hammerin’ Hank?

"Greene over to Schumaker, on to first! Double Play!!"

by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Jun 13, 2009 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions

I don't know about Greenberg

but I’ve heard people call Hank Blalock “Hamerin’ Hank” and that’s just wrong.

It also drives me nuts (yar) when people call LaDanian Tomlinson “LT”. “LT” was and will always be Lawrence Taylor. I do like what Bill Simmons suggested for Tomlinson which I try to use as much as possible to see if people catch it. He suggested Tomlinson be “LDT”.

I have a very, umm...photographic brain. A lot like Ansel Adams but in color and with a lot more, uh.....insertion and pubic hair.

by Tackle Box on Jun 13, 2009 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions

i haven't heard that one

i’ve always heard Hank the Tank

It kind of sounds like he’s [Duncan] just running around like a puppy out there – full speed ahead in random directions. – BTown Birds Fan

by gdm426 on Jun 13, 2009 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Hank the Tank is probably stolen too

from Old School.

Well, maybe not “stolen”, but I betcha people got the idea from the movie.

I have a very, umm...photographic brain. A lot like Ansel Adams but in color and with a lot more, uh.....insertion and pubic hair.

by Tackle Box on Jun 13, 2009 6:44 PM EDT up reply actions

WE'RE GOING STREAKING

It kind of sounds like he’s [Duncan] just running around like a puppy out there – full speed ahead in random directions. – BTown Birds Fan

by gdm426 on Jun 13, 2009 7:11 PM EDT up reply actions

good to see im not the only one a bit pieved at re-peats

we have freedom of speech and id think more creativity than to dub someone the same name as another..

I also think sometimes nicknames are derived from something about that person…nto alsways but sometimes..

I can't believe i gave up a homerun to that punch and judy hitter-major league 2

by punchinjudy on Jun 13, 2009 7:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Hank Greenberg was first

His Hall of Fame plaque says just “Henry Benjamin Greenberg,” though. He played 1930-47.
Hank Aaron played 1954-76. His plaque doesn’t have “Hammerin’,” either: "Henry ‘Hank’ L. Aaron. (Odd because a nickname should come after the middle name or initial, right before the last name. It’s “Hank Aaron,” not “Hank L. Aaron.” Anyways, . . .)

" ‘Ammerin’ Ank" is a pretty cool twist on a near-repeat. Or if you’re upset with Rick, you can spell it “AmerenAnk.”

"All you campers, besides the chiggers, you'll come up with a sleeping bag from Bass Pro Shops." Mike Shannon, promo for Cardinals Campout

by Nelson Brockabrella on Jun 16, 2009 8:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Ken Harrelson and Andre Dawson

were both known as the Hawk

"Greene over to Schumaker, on to first! Double Play!!"

by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Jun 13, 2009 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions

i thought/remebered that the other night

which one is more famous? both at one point where tied to same city too….YESSSSSSSS

I can't believe i gave up a homerun to that punch and judy hitter-major league 2

by punchinjudy on Jun 13, 2009 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions

STRETCH!

Which is more famous? I’m not sure but it might now be Harrelson. He’s gotten himself to be fairly famous with all of his cliches.

I have a very, umm...photographic brain. A lot like Ansel Adams but in color and with a lot more, uh.....insertion and pubic hair.

by Tackle Box on Jun 13, 2009 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Maybe I'm alone on this,

but I think that The Wizard falls into the same camp as something like “Gibby,” anyone whose name lends itself to it can fairly be nicknamed The Wiz. Hockey has several… James Wizniewski,is one. Occasionally you hear it used for Chris Osgood or Sidney Crosby (the Wizard of Croz).

Sure, “The Wizard” only means one player to me, but it’s fair game for anyone that has that syllable in their name.

by Lost In NC on Jun 13, 2009 10:59 AM EDT reply actions

i see your point

and at leats they call him the wizard and not the wizard of Oz..

I can't believe i gave up a homerun to that punch and judy hitter-major league 2

by punchinjudy on Jun 13, 2009 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions

Once a superstar owns a nickname,

. . . it’s not fair for anyone else ever to use it again! At least not in the same sport, so this Houston thing needs to be brought to the attention of the Commissioner’s Office. punchinjudy, you need to get on this:
Honorable Alan H. Selig
Commissioner of Major League Baseball
777 E. Wisconsin Avenue
Suite 2010
Milwaukee, WI 53202
—and thanks for the fun topic!

I can see how the nickname “ownership” might not be recognized by a totally different sport, Lost in NC. Getting “the Wiz” from “Osgood” totally copies Ozzie. Then again, hockey used the “Greatest” nickname after it had been well established for a boxer.

“The Wizard of Cros” is okay, in any case, because there’s the significant and unique variation with the “Cr” in there. “Wiz” being short for “Wizniewski” is okay because it doesn’t necessarily imply “Wizard.”

By the way, Ozzie’s HOF plaque thoroughly gets into the nickname (unlike the Hammerin’ Hanks discussed above). The top two lines on the plaque are like this:
OSBORNE EARL SMITH
“Ozzie” “The Wizard”
Plus the descriptive text says, “His congenial personality . . . made ‘the Wizard’ a fan favorite.”

"All you campers, besides the chiggers, you'll come up with a sleeping bag from Bass Pro Shops." Mike Shannon, promo for Cardinals Campout

by Nelson Brockabrella on Jun 16, 2009 9:19 PM EDT up reply actions

I mean hockey used the "Great One" nickname

. . . after it had already been well established for entertainer Jackie Gleason.

"All you campers, besides the chiggers, you'll come up with a sleeping bag from Bass Pro Shops." Mike Shannon, promo for Cardinals Campout

by Nelson Brockabrella on Jun 18, 2009 12:44 PM EDT up reply actions

The two best nicknames of all time!

“The Big Unit”—-god knows for what this was originally conceived (probably a bad word choice)

“The Great One”—-says it all

Not afraid to nitpick

by joker24 on Jun 15, 2009 10:11 AM EDT reply actions

Re: The Big Unit

Randy Johnson would make an excellent porn star name.

by Anonymous Communist on Jun 15, 2009 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions

just want to throw out

YOU DON’T GET TO PICK YOUR OWN NICKNAME.

IE, Wallace can’t decide he isn’t “the walrus”. Boo. We decide the nicknames, you hit the effing baseball.

- "I went at it and didn’t slow down, so it kind of bounced off me." -Lil' Dunc

by SleepyCA on Jun 16, 2009 3:35 AM EDT reply actions

ha thats funny

and true, and i dont fault Roy O ..itd be more at the Astros, but still find it more interesting that there is a repeat

I can't believe i gave up a homerun to that punch and judy hitter-major league 2

by punchinjudy on Jun 16, 2009 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions

"El Hombre" = "The Man"

punchinjudy, in your opening post you wrote this:

When given nicknames there are usually no repeats..here are some off the head nicknames that are famous, and stand for one person. . . .
- El Hombre . . .
- “the man”

The problem is that “El Hombre” is simply Spanish for “the Man.” Albert himself has said that he doesn’t go for the “El Hombre” nickname because of this, and because there can only be one “the Man,” Stan “the Man” Musial.

Also—and Albert didn’t say this—it kinda puts him in Stan’s shadow. It’s like saying he’s “the Man, Junior.” Certainly, by 2009 Albert has established his own unique credentials, which are significantly different from Stan’s, and deserves a unique nickname. The main similarity between Albert and Stan might be that they’re Cardinals playing at the highest level in the league.

But then, so was Rogers Hornsby, so what are we going to do—recycle “Rajah” into Spanish, too? In fact, this is almost being done, because “rajah” (besides being a play on the name “Roger”) means “prince,” and we’ve heard “Prince Albert” plenty. (Spanish for “prince” is “principe.”)

"All you campers, besides the chiggers, you'll come up with a sleeping bag from Bass Pro Shops." Mike Shannon, promo for Cardinals Campout

by Nelson Brockabrella on Jun 18, 2009 12:58 PM EDT reply actions