Nicknames

Sports are filled with great nicknames.

Air Jordan.  Magic Johnson.  The Mailman (Karl Malone).  Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain.  Pistol Pete Maravich. 

The Say Hey Kid (Willy Mays).  Frank Thomas is "The Big Hurt."  Shoeless Joe Jackson.  Charlie Hustle (Pete Rose).  Dizzy Dean. 

The Assassin (which wouldn't be tolerated today).  William "The Refrigerator" Perry.  Deion "Prime Time" Sanders.  Our own Reggie White who was The Minister of Defense.  "The Bus," Jerome Bettis.

When I was growing up, lots of people had nicknames.  I never really did.  Oh, a couple of guys switched the first letters in my name and came up with Bloe Jack.  I didn't like it much.  I think it was Lackie Jefler that did that.  Or maybe Wordo Gatson.

Thank goodness it didn't stick.

There seems to have always been Bubba's.  At least in this part of the country.

We don't seem to have nicknames so much any more. I can't think of many at all. 

I guess there's my biking buddy Emil who we sometimes call "The Cuban Flash" but he's not Cuban (he grew up in Puerto Rico then Miami) yet he is certainly fast on a bicycle.

My son has a nephew called Trey (he's the third to carry his name) and his own son is the second but "Deuce" doesn't seem to have stayed with him.  We are more likely to call him "Buddy" than anything else.

It seems to sort of stopped with my generation.  A lot of the people I knew growing up had nicknames.

Snake Watson.  His brother Baldy Watson who, I don't believe, is bald yet.

Jam-Up White who was legendary in baseball (which makes his nickname have some reason I think). Inky Swiney.  Red Greenway (who may have been red at some time in his life but was bald for all of mine).  Greasy Grimes, who I don't remember as being either greasy or grimy.

There was Little Bill Miller and Big Bill Miller, neither of which was big at all.

Some whose last name escapes me.  Like Frog, the janitor at the high school.  And Hambone.  There were a couple of Bulldogs.  And at least one Bones. 

I knew a Jughead.  We had a Maybelline whose name wasn't that at all.  I think it was because she wore too much makeup.

So I'm gonna suggest some new nicknames.

How about "Ice Man" for Jalen Myers  He certainly plays like it.

And "Streak" for Kelby Brock.  That's about all you see of him.

T.D. Blackmon doesn't need a nickname.  He's got one built in already.

Maybe we can start a trend here!