Dave Mona wrote a segment regarding football nicknames for the WCCO Radio Gopher football pre-game show. Mona was looking for a topic prior to the Indiana game and was reviewing the Hoosier media guide. He saw the name Bob Hoernschemeyer but it didn’t look familiar. Then he remembered Bob was also known as Hunchy Hoernschemeyer.
Mona wondered whatever happened to football nicknames. How about the Lonesome End, the Seven Blocks of Granite, the Four Horsemen, Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside?
Years ago, Mona recalled, football offered up Alan the Horse Ameche, Norm Dutch Van Brocklin, Slingin’ Sammy Baugh, Elroy Crazy Legs Hirsch, Howard Hopalong Cassady, Lou the Toe Groza, Joe the Jet Perry, Hugh the King McElhenny, Dick Night Train Lane, Elwell Doak Walker, Charlie Choo Choo Justice, Byron Whizzer White, Babe Parelli, Red the Galloping Ghost Grange and Floyd Breezy Reid. From the Gophers came Bronko Nagurski, Leo the Lion Nomellini, Babe LeVoir, W.W. Pudge Heffelfinger, Pug Lund and two of my all–time favorites, Bob Snowshoe Schultz and Smokey Joe Salem (Mona left them off his list).
Sports writers once drooled at the thought of hanging a nickname on a player. If a writer didn’t come up with something, a relative or friend just might. In the old days athletes and non-athletes, the famous and the ordinary, had nicknames. Whether it’s political correctness, or lack of creativity, nicknames today are more unusual but the old timers will not be forgotten.